Co-founder of Angel & Rocket, Lewis Bostock, explains the ethos behind the brand and what’s next on the cards for the fast-growing company

By Ellie-Mae Hammond

For family run business, Angel & Rocket, the sky poses no limit. Having opened their second store in St Albans this June, the pandemic evidently did not chip away at their ambition.

Living in a society where the next fashion ‘fad trend’ is always around the corner, it always impresses me when a brand that didn’t come directly from the high street makes as big of a splash as well-established retail marketers. With that being said, it’s not very often I am left with sincere curiosity when it comes to anything children’s wear, seeing as I am only a fur mother, however all of that changed when I sat down with Lewis Bostock, founder of Angel & Rocket, a children’s wear brand, making its mark, internationally.

“We wanted to bring a premium brand to market, offering great quality fabrics, at affordable prices,” he states. “The high street is a massive influence for us, however we felt there was an opportunity to come into a market that was very trend led, but offered affordability and not at the expense of quality. The thing I think sets us apart from other big retailers is that our brand is more unique. If your child turns up to a party wearing one of our garments, it’s almost certain that nobody else’s child will be wearing the same thing.”

Fashion has always been at the heart of the Bostock family, so it was of no surprise when the idea formed to launch their own brand back in 2013. “My family has always been in manufacturing,” he says. “I have so many childhood memories of going into one of my dad’s factories on the weekends, labelling garments, doing whatever I could for a bit of pocket money. Mum always worked in retail too, starting off in Next, George, M&S and then ASOS. I saw the path formulating, I always wanted to be a buyer, but then I got sucked into the sourcing and manufacturing side, and since then, I never looked back.”

What impresses me is Bostock’s enthusiasm to understand the full procedure, from sourcing to manufacturing, he didn’t just want to see it for himself, he wanted to experience the entire process. “I went and lived in Sri Lanka for six months, to understand how they sourced and manufactured,” he continues. “The opportunities I have had to travel and 

visit factories all over the world – India, Turkey, and China to name a few – and seeing how different cultures do manufacturing, how they treat their workforce really broadened my perspective. Doing children’s wear is very different: you have the fashion side, but also the safety aspect. Whenever you manufacture children’s wear, you have to make sure it performs to the highest standards.”

When I first encountered Bostock’s brand, it was the designs themselves that first caught my eye. With Bostock’s brother being the main designer for boy’s wear, there is not much this family cannot do. “We follow ladies and men’s trends and then filter them down, making them age and culture appropriate,” Bostock explains. “A big area we will be developing is our occasion wear. Obviously, with the expectation of their being more weddings this year, there is a hope that the demand for occasion wear will be higher than usual.”

Since launching their first store in 2017, the Bostock family have continued to raise the bar for both the quality of their products, and their reputation. “Whenever I see a little kid wearing my clothes, it makes me feel insanely proud – that feeling will never get old,” he smiles. With a solid reputation, comes the ability to act on ambition, and Angel & Rocket have exceeded just that by continuously growing their global footprint. “Right now, we have customers all over the world,” he says, “the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and a few in the US, however our long-term ambition is grow our international footprint, by being stocked in market places in the US.

“The next phase of our plan is to look at more store opportunities. Alongside this, we are launching with John Lewis in September, and beyond this, we are also planning to be available on Zalando by the end of the year. We have been lucky enough to have the most amazing support from our amazing partners at Next, another platform where Angel & Rocket pieces can be bought.” 

It appears this family founded brand really does embody their name. Angel & Rocket, without doubt, have truly lifted off.

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ANGEL & ROCKET,
28 High Street, Marlow, SL7 1AW
020 3982 9991
angelandrocket.com