Founded in 2015 on Edinburgh’s Thistle Street, Biscuit Clothing has spent the past decade championing mindful style, small-batch brands and a bricks-and-mortar sense of community that now stretches worldwide thanks to a cleverly curated e-commerce arm. As the label celebrates its tenth birthday, Quine Magazine spoke with founder Amanda Mitchell about peaks, pivots and the power of keeping things “biscuity”.
What have been the highs and the hurdles?
When I opened Thistle Street back in 2015, I had no idea what was ahead of me. The rollercoaster ride of owning a small business has been interesting but I wouldn’t change a thing. Highlights would always include the opening of the shops and how our website has grown. Covid played a massive role in the way Biscuit has had to adapt. Our online presence had to improve and now plays a large role in our growth path. And with the current economic climate we need to be sensitive to what our customers want and look for. We have had to be nimble and relevant.
A milestone that still gives you goose-bumps?
At the heart of me I am all about bricks and mortar so opening a shop will always be a milestone. Creating our own community around the shop is something I am very proud of. We run workshops, hold fashion events and pop ups which you cannot do online. However this being said, I am very proud of what we have achieved with our online presence.
How do you make sustainability stylish?
Sustainability has always been at the forefront of Biscuit. Being responsible for our fashion choices that encourage clever shopping strategies has always been important. I for one have items in my wardrobe that are 30 years old and still worn (some admittedly stolen by my daughters). Buying clever for longevity has always been our ethos at Biscuit. Buy one item to keep forever instead of 5 items that can end up in landfill a few seasons later. We now look towards our brands for more sustainable decisions on fabric choices and development and will not buy brands who do not follow our values. Our customers value our honesty and visibility in this regard. They like to know that they are taking part in cleaning up the face of fashion.
Which other Edinburgh labels deserve a shout-out?
I am loving the movement of small British fashion brands who champion sustainability with small batch runs. One brand that we love to support is called Second Stories. Nicci moved to Edinburgh quite recently and decided to start this small fashion brand using deadstock material. A great idea and worth shouting about.
Many young women—including your own 20-year-old daughter—want to carve a career in fashion. What’s your no-nonsense advice?
The fashion industry is so diverse and so I encourage anyone to work in as many sectors as possible. From development to wholesale to retail.
I have always said, without customers there would be no industry so understanding them is the most important foundation. Everyone should have experience on a sales floor learning from the customer.
How do you bottle the “biscuity” vibe online?
This is absolutely the hardest thing to do. What is our USP? And how do we compete in a very busy industry? In our shops, I can make it very ‘biscuity’ so that we can stand out but online, this is harder to achieve.
Three times a year we have a fashion shoot creating ‘Biscuit World’ that then not only creates our vision on the front pages on the website but works alongside our weekly blog. Community and customers are at the heart of everything that we do and creating a following online is incredibly valuable to us. We work very hard creating our website that helps build a community.
Who is the Biscuit shopper?
This is when my friends and family think me weird as I am always on the lookout for a Biscuit customer wherever I am. Before I sign a shop lease, I take my time sitting in a coffee shop watching the world go by… counting possible customers. I cannot really define who she really is but I just get a vibe. Our mission is to make everyone who steps over the threshold of Biscuit to leave feeling confident with their purchase. Anyone can be a Biscuit customer with any budget. We want women to feel comfortable in themselves. We are not rewriting the fashion rulebook but we are making sure that women make the right decisions for themselves.
What are your plans for the next decade?
My dream is for Biscuit to continue growing while staying true to our values—community, quality, and individuality. I’d love to open another shop or two in locations that feel aligned with our spirit, but only if it feels right. I never want to expand just for the sake of it.
I also see our online presence evolving even more—creating a digital experience that’s as personal and curated as stepping into one of our shops. Ultimately, I want Biscuit to remain a place where women feel seen, inspired, and confident—where they know they can always find something that feels like them. If we can keep doing that, I’ll feel like we’ve succeeded.
Discover more at biscuit.clothing or pop into Biscuit in Edinburgh at 132 Bruntsfield Place, or in Glasgow at 135 Hyndland Road to experience “Biscuit World” in person.
