The Canberra teen who turned a setback into a fashion label
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Warmth, inside and out. That was the concept behind 16-year-old Izzy Kane’s debut clothing brand, Shoodie Hoodie.
Built during a time of isolation when she found herself stuck at home with an ACL injury, the brand marks a milestone moment for the Canberra College student. A year in the making, it is not only a massive achievement but shows just how far she’s come after what she describes as a ‘very bad’ year.
“I was out of soccer, away from my friends and I was struggling with the question of ‘What do I do now?’ because I didn’t have anything to focus on,” she explains.
“I was also going through some mental stuff as well.”
Before that moment, Izzy never planned on being a clothing designer. But as she shivered through a cold day, she had an idea: a hoodie, lined with sherpa.
Designed to be warm enough that it can be worn without layering a jacket over the top, fun enough that you’ll want to be seen wearing it and comfortable enough that you won’t want to take it off, Shoodie Hoodie was born.
“I wasn’t always interested in fashion and design. I really enjoyed it, and it was a hobby of mine; I liked designing and I like crafting new things, but it wasn’t something that I saw doing as a job,” explains Izzy.
“I got really interested in business ownership and entrepreneurialism these last two years. I was listening to lots of podcasts, and I was listening to this one lady, Codie Sanchez, which is all about, ‘choose your hard’.”
It’s a saying that quickly became her mantra – and for Izzy, she knew her ‘hard’ would be owning a business.
“When I picture myself in 20 years’ time, I don’t want to be working a nine to five for someone else. I want to be working for myself in something I truly believe in and am really proud of,” she explains.
“That was the driving force of me owning a business. I didn’t know what it would be, but I knew I would make it happen.”
Izzy wanted to create something to stand out from the crowd of Katmandu puffer jackets, so she dove into research – teaching herself all design, suppliers, economics, marketing, and building her own website from scratch.
In a moment that echoes the story of actress Emma Stone using a PowerPoint presentation to get her family on board with her Hollywood dreams, she also created a presentation for her parents to explain her project.
“I practiced it for days and I broke down the product, why it’s going to work, the timeline, how I want to scale it and what I needed from them,” explains Izzy.
“Then I looked at the downside and how I was going to mitigate those risks. They’ve been very supportive and have challenged me a lot, which is good.”
Using her friends as market research and spending many hours communicating with suppliers in China to ensure that her final product would be ethical, Izzy admits that creating Shoodie Hoodie has been a journey. She’s balanced the business alongside school, her social life and her ACL injury, and has taken every step by herself.
“It’s a creative outlet for me and it’s something I’m passionate about. It’s a product that I believe in and think is really cool,” she says.
“I’m very proud of myself of how far I’ve come from being in that mental space in the beginning of last year to having built this product from the ground up.”
The first drop of Shoodie Hoodie is available now and comes in two colourways: grey with pink and black with blue. They’re both lined with sherpa and feature a little sheep on the chest and bubbly Shoodie Hoodie typography on the back. Izzy is also planning on releasing more colour options, matching trackies, socks and – eventually – winter pajamas.
With the full scaling plan ready to go, it’s just the beginning of the business. But as she prepares to release her product to the public, Izzy says seeing the boxes stacked in her dad’s office is a ‘pinch me’ moment.
“I can’t really believe that it’s real. There are so many emotions for something that came from a bad year for me, and it’s turned into something I’m so excited to launch.”
Izzy isn’t sure if she will study business at university. But as she looks to the future and prepares to see where Shoodie Hoodie takes her, she knows one thing: she will continue to choose her hard and follow her heart.
“I’ve always been someone with a plan. I have a plan for my business, and I had a plan for my life,” she says.
“Now I’ve taken a step back and whatever will happen, will happen.”
Priced at $110, you can buy Shoodie Hoodie here.
