Born under the golden light of the Australian coast, Soleil Soleil isn’t just a clothing brand — it’s a feeling. One that lingers like saltwater on skin, soft linen in the breeze, and long afternoons that blur into evening. Founded by friends Emma and Isabel, the brand began as a creative escape and has since grown into a globally loved label rooted in sustainability, storytelling, and the slow, intentional rhythm of sun-soaked living. In this interview, we chat about the spark that started it all, how their vision has evolved, and what it really means to build a brand that stays true to its soul.

  

 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself & your background?

We met while working together as textile designers at a studio in Sydney where we were fortunate enough to work on print designs for some of our favourite brands around the world. We instantly bonded over a shared love of vintage prints and lunch breaks spent at the beach around the corner from the office. Our relationship was built on creative collaboration and the rest kind of fell into place naturally. 

 

Can you tell us about how you came to set up the brand Soleil Soleil & what are the true brand values?

We had daydreamed about creating art and textiles together as a passion project so when lockdowns began in 2020 we found ourselves with the free time to put our thoughts into action. We were excited to create designs with intention and control the whole process from initial artwork to final product and the more we worked together the bigger we dreamed. 

Soleil Soleil was born of our intention to unite our love of painting and creating, with our passion for sustainable design practices.

 

What does a typical day in the office look like for you as co-founders?

I think we’re yet to have the same day twice. We still both do a bit of everything so it’s lots of jumping between different aspects of the business.

It’s everything from long days on location at photoshoots, late night looking at spreadsheets. Team meetings, forecasting, problem solving and experimenting. There’s always a lot of time on video calls as we live and work from different parts of the country most of the time. And then when we are together we’re drawing, painting and sourcing inspiration for hours. 

 

Was there ever a time you thought, “what the hell are we doing?” - and what pulled you through it?

Pretty much weekly! Especially back when it was just the two of us managing everything and learning what's involved with running a business (as two designers).

We are still a small brand but we feel so lucky and proud to now have such an amazing little team to bounce off. We have so much love and passion for what we’re doing that even when we feel overwhelmed by the demands of running a business and working in this industry, there’s still no other job we would rather be doing. We’ve learnt that passion gets you through a lot!

 

Soleil Soleil prints are instantly recognisable – what influences these and how are they designed?

With both of us coming from a textile design background, every collection begins with the hand-painted artwork which eventually becomes the prints. It’s our favourite part of the design process and really special to our brand. Each artwork is a collaboration between the two of us and we feel incredibly lucky to have found this unique creative relationship. We find inspiration everywhere and are influenced by something new with each collection. Travel, Vintage textiles, Nature, art, all filtered through a Soleil Soleil lens and painted with both of our handwriting. 

 

What’s one thing you swore you’d never do as a brand, but ended up doing anyway as you evolved?

We didn’t go as far as swearing we would never, but we certainly originally didn't intend to design clothing. We began designing pareos and intended to be an accessories and lifestyle brand but as we grew we added RTW pieces to the collections based on what we were missing from our own holiday wardrobes. We still try to keep our drops small and only produce pieces we personally can't live without. 

 

 

If your brand were a person at a party, what kind of energy would they bring?

We hope she would be a relaxed and easy going presence making everyone feel welcome and radiating with the energy of sunshine and good times. The embodiment of your vacation alter ego. 

 

Tyde is all about a travel lifestyle & bringing together brands from across the world – What’s your next travel destination & why?

Travel is a huge source of inspiration to us—we love that this is such a focus for Tyde as well. We are both heading to the Greek Islands this year. Counting down until we’re wearing pareos day and night. 

 

What lies ahead in the future for Soleil Soleil?

We are working hard at continuing to reduce our environmental footprint with every collection and partnering with artisans around the world who inspire us. And of course lots of painting! 

 

Explore the Soleil Soleil Collection at Tyde London HERE