amed as one of Inside Retail’s 20 Coolest Retailers this year, we recently spoke to the co-founders about the secret to Aje’s success. Inside Retail: ‘Cool’ is often thought of as a young person’s trait, but Aje targets a really wide range of ages. Do you think ‘cool’ is ageless?  Edwina Forest:  Absolutely, you can be ‘cool’ at any age.  Cool is an attitude, a feeling, an innate sense of knowing who you are. A quiet sense of self-assured confidence. It does not hold to an age bracket. We design for the ageless woman who is aware, tactile and discerning. Empowering women of all ages through beautiful and compelling design is at the heart of what we do.   Aje has always purposefully designed against trends, to ensure that every piece is unique and stands the test of time, able to be worn again and again.   We design versatile, timeless pieces with the customer top of mind, so the pieces don’t date.  We offer newness each season, to create intrigue and desire, while offering the consistency that comes from knowing that a brand really encapsulates your own personal style. IR: How would you describe Aje’s design aesthetic and why do you think it resonates so strongly with customers? EF: As Aje has evolved and continues to do so, our foundations and spirit have very much remained constant. The ethos of tough femininity and effortless cool has remained consistent throughout our brand’s evolution, being as relevant today as it was 13 years ago when we first launched.  Each collection pioneers Australia’s quintessential coastal to urban style with our signature curated mix of effortless essentials and statement occasion pieces, each crafted with luxurious sensibilities. Grounded in our mutual love of the arts, we devote each seasonal collection to an intrinsic sense of duality, balancing toughness with femininity, untamed volume with structure and signature statement pieces alongside effortless essentials. Adrian Norris: Edwina and I have built our business carefully and slowly in the last 13 years, so the clearer picture and at the heart of what we do is to continue empowering women, by creating beautiful and meaningful design. As the brand has matured and grown, our foundations have stayed consistent. The Aje customer shapes everything that we do. We will continue to listen to her, design for her, offer her a platform to express herself and meet her wherever she is around the world. We design for a woman who comes to Aje for a complete look, for a style that will effortlessly set her apart, celebrate her uniqueness and never date.   IR: Are there any campaigns or initiatives you’ve launched recently that you’re particularly proud of, or that you think are really boundary pushing? EF: We are committed, conscious and continue to take steps towards driving sustainability as we focus on initiating a number of conscious product initiatives.  We purposefully seek partners on their sustainability journey to collaborate with and we are proud of our past and upcoming collaborations with Superga, Local Supply and Helen Kaminski. These brands are all leaders in this space.    Collaborating with these brands is an enriching creative experience, as our design teams come together with a shared love of craftsmanship, tactile materials and fine details.  The result of these collaborations are timeless and modern styles with ultimate recyclability in mind.   AN:  At Aje, we are also focussed on supporting initiatives and making a meaningful contribution to the overall improvement of well-being in the communities in which we live and work.     A key focus for Aje is the education and empowerment of children and supporting organisations that strive to ensure every child has access to a safe, nurturing and permanent family upbringing.   Aje is proud to support and currently work with charity partner Adopt Change. For Christmas 2021, Aje will make over 500 teddy bears from excess fabrics which will be gifted to children living in care under the Adopt Change programme.   We are also proud to be a part of the David Jones Pathways Program initiative which connects Edwina and I with Indigenous designers. Via a mentoring programme we have been honoured to be able to provide support and guidance to foster the future success of our First Nations fashion designers.     IR: What can we expect to see from Aje in the next few months? AN:  In May of this year, we launched a sub-brand – Aje Athletica. The response from our customers both in Australia and overseas has been incredible and we are thrilled to be opening 11 standalone Aje Athletica stores across Australia and New Zealand from October 2021.   We are also further expanding our Aje mainline store network in Australia and New Zealand with a rollout plan that focuses on ensuring we have the right offering of Aje in the right locations.   As soon as we can travel again, we also intend to leap into our focus on international markets with a world class offering.