When I visit Aspiga founder Lucy Macnamara at the fashion brand’s headquarters in Battersea, I choose the wrong room. This is his team’s workspace, okay, but his office is down the hall. At the first one, I noticed how calm the atmosphere was, with employees quietly clicking away on their laptops.
Lucy’s office is a little different: It’s not her who greets me, but a Jack Russell puppy trying to escape the room. Inside, her other dog, Toula, and her second puppy look like they’re taking a break from this. “I recently moved back to London from the countryside and planned it well so she would have time to nest before giving birth, but the puppies arrived two days after the move. What chaos!’ he says, laughing.
By his own admission, Macnamara talks “at a hundred miles an hour” but says the chaos in his personal life is something he is used to and the stubbornness he associates with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “Everyone tells me I can’t have three dogs. I almost want to prove them wrong and hide it all. “I like to challenge the rules.”
Macnamara, 56, was diagnosed with ADHD three years ago. She claims the diagnosis revealed her strengths and weaknesses as an entrepreneur, focusing on what she calls her “superpower” and providing much-needed clarity on how she can better steer her independent sustainable fashion label towards new horizons.
He founded Aspiga in 2006 and has steadily built the business from scratch to become an award-winning B-Corp certified brand with an annual turnover of £10 million and 13 stores in the UK, as well as one in Barbados. five-star Sandpiper Hotel. This brick-and-mortar presence is paired with a thriving e-commerce platform and a fashion catalog operation. It has achieved this omnichannel presence independently without any external financial support, making Aspiga a rare asset in our increasingly globalized and risk-negative retail environment.
Macnamara still has big plans for his business; this includes expanding into the United States and the Middle East and supporting more charities to add to Aspiga’s already long list of philanthropic projects; these include initiatives with the Charlie Waller Trust and WaterHarvest, a mental health charity. A non-profit organization working to secure rainwater for remote communities in India and Africa. Aspiga also organizes monthly beach cleans along the banks of the River Thames. It’s clearly not just someone who wades through the shallowest part of the river: Macnamara is rising to the challenge and now employs 50 staff.
‘I thought I was crazy Lucy Mac’
ADHD is a complex condition that affects people in different ways, but key symptoms include restlessness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. On the other hand, in business, this may mean that you are more risk-taking, faster-paced, and more focused on a specific goal, which can give you instant gratification in the form of a hit of the neurotransmitter dopamine. It is linked to feelings of reward, which has been found to be lower in people with ADHD.
“What I find debilitating is intolerance and impatience. Fortunately, I do not have an addictive personality, but I have thousands of hobbies; tennis, horseback riding, cycling, golf, you name it,” Macnamara tells me. “What I usually lack is willpower, so for example I can’t eat a finger of chocolate, I’ll eat the whole wrapper. Equally, I want things done quickly, which is why I have a successful business.” “I don’t forget anything at work, it’s different outside the office; I lose my keys all the time, I get parking tickets, I left the bathroom running a million times. It’s so annoying but the superpowers are there.”
The myth about ADHD is that everyone has the potential to soar, according to Prof James Brown, co-founder of the charity ADHD Adult UK (@adhdadultuk) and co-host of the podcast @theadhdadults, who also coaches people with the condition. in business.
“What often appears on the internet or on social media is that people with ADHD are more entrepreneurial, which is like a common statement, but the strengths of ADHD do not spread differently among those who have it than those who are not neurodiverse. Everyone is different,” he explains. “But ADHD People with ‘s are more likely to start a business on their own. The main drivers of success are often impulsiveness and starting a business later in life. If you find something rewarding, you will be fully engaged in it.
In fact, Macnamara says Aspiga, thanks to its goal-oriented instincts, achieved B Corp certification at record speed, a specialized certification that requires rigorous evaluation of a company’s commitment to high standards of social and environmental performance.
“My team said we should consider doing this in two or three years. I said, ‘No,’ we’re doing this now,” he recalls. “We’ve had sustainability ingrained in our DNA from day one. So why wait? When something is important to me, I can be hyper-focused on it and “This moves it forward.”
Macnamara has worked in philanthropy for 15 years, so I wonder if she could apply her skills to any start-up. “I would be perfect if I were the city’s merchant,” he says with a smile. “I was interested in fashion because I always knew when something looked right. I’m not a fashionista, what I love is looking beautiful, so designs don’t work unless the collections suit me.
In fact, Aspiga is known for its wearable transitional dresses, pretty blouses and stylish colour-blocked sweaters, embroidered pieces and colorful accessories handmade by artisans in Kenya and India, all made from sustainable fabrics. “A lot of our clothing is ‘ADHD-friendly’ in a way,” she says. “For example, small buttons are easily secured to elastic loops. I don’t like restrictive things, so collars don’t stick to me and I don’t like tight waists either. When it comes to fabric, it’s all about touch and feel.” This explains the popularity of feminine and tactile corduroy dresses with softened hourglass shapes and delicately ruffled cuffs.
This year Aspiga was shortlisted for the sustainability award at the Drapers Independents Awards, a testament to the company’s environmentally responsible production process. In fact, 82 percent of their collections are made from certified sustainable fabrics, while 94 percent of the cotton is organic or responsibly sourced. The company aims to increase that last figure to 100 percent by 2026, and you can be sure Lucy won’t be satisfied until she reaches that last percentage point.
If Macnamara has one regret in his personal life, it’s that he wishes he could get married and have children but his “itchy feet” prevent him from doing so. He says the same flexibility has benefited him at Aspiga: “It’s funny because outside of the office I’m a very talkative person, but at work I just want the job done. “I have to go back to emails to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ because to me… well, I don’t care, it doesn’t seem relevant.”
The entrepreneur was diagnosed with ADHD at a relatively late age, as it has been for many people since awareness of the condition has increased in recent years. “People ask, ‘Why do you need a label when you’re 56?’ they said. but that’s not what it’s about. My diagnosis gave me a better understanding of all neurodiversity. This made me more tolerant and open-minded. The thing to remember is that you don’t just ‘catch’ ADHD. “Some symptoms, such as forgetfulness, can overlap with menopause symptoms, but diagnosis takes a long time and dates back to your childhood,” she explains.
“For a long time I thought I was the crazy ‘Lucy Mac’ and I hated myself. I was initially quite upset when I received the diagnosis because people with ADHD are more likely to remain single or divorce. Of course there are other factors, but I’ve always worried about being bored. “I now realize that I am not alone and that knowing means I can educate myself and help.”
Is he now aware of some of his weaknesses as a boss? “It was a relief to tell the team. ADHD doesn’t excuse my impatience when I talk too openly sometimes, but at least the staff knows and understands that side of me. What I’m bad at are SKUs [used to track stock inventory] and legal contracts. I’ve hastily signed things in the past that I probably shouldn’t have signed, so I have a better procedure now.
The name of the condition itself is problematic, says Stephanie Camilleri, a London-based ADHD coach and founder of ADHD Advocate. “The words ‘attention deficit’ are misleading because we have too much attention, that’s the problem; There’s too much going on. The word ‘disorder’ is controversial because ADHD is situationally variable, so if you’re in a place where you can’t use your strengths, it feels very limiting. On the other hand, if we can design our lives and environments around ADHD strengths, we can be successful. “We are actually ready for real attention.”
Macnamara’s response was to find a lot of diversity in his role; this is confirmed by his colorful Instagram feed, which shows him meeting Aspiga’s artisan producers in India and Kenya.
I want to know if he sits back to praise himself for his success so far. “No, because I think we still have a long way to go and I can’t rest until I reach my final goal.” I think maybe the ultimate goal should be just that: to be able to celebrate Aspiga as a success story that goes beyond fashion and raises awareness about neurodiversity. Uncharacteristically, he pauses for a moment, looks me straight in the eye, and says matter-of-factly: “You know, I’d really like that.”