How Aligne Made Its Timeless Pieces Go Massively Viral

People tend to come across British label Aligne on their social feeds. Its signature blazers have gone viral on TikTok time and time again, leading many to the small-batch brand and converting them into customers. Earlier this year, Aligne unveiled its first-ever campaign on billboards across the UK, starring English footballer Lucy Bronze in office-ready separates and crisp denim co-ords in place of her more familiar jersey and shorts. 

The buzzy spring/summer 2024 ad spot was only the first indication that Aligne was in for a superstar year. Last month, it entered the Asia, Middle East and South America markets. It was also picked up by Shopbop, where it sold out within its first week. Most recently it relaunched its website with a fresh new logo that emphasises its snappy name. 

Of course, this level of superstardom doesn’t happen overnight. Aligne is actually four years old but over the past 18 months it has undergone a major restructuring, shifting from its original wholesale business model (at stockists like Anthropologie and Liberty) to a direct-to-consumer brand. “When you prioritise wholesale, you lose valuable customer insights and the chance for meaningful interactions with the end consumer,” CEO Ginny Seymour, who joined the 15-woman team in 2022 as managing director, tells Refinery29. “I wanted to change that by fostering direct relationships between our brand and the people we serve.” 

Prior to Aligne, Seymour was the director of product and sustainability at UK-based jewellery brand Astrid & Miyu, and was previously a buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. The changes she’s introduced at Aligne have helped the brand feed demand for considered products just above the high street price point, to the tune of 600% year-over-year revenue growth by mid-2023, according to Glossy. Seymour says she really started noticing a shift in Aligne’s public profile last autumn, going into the holiday season. 

“We did this diamanté denim set that kind of broke Instagram in the UK,” she says. “At Christmas time, there wasn’t a week I opened my Instagram and didn’t see someone else wearing it. It felt like we’d done something, and it was the beginning of this next chapter.”

Aligne’s other viral hits include the collarless blazer beloved by TikTok, and its Gabriella dress: a long-sleeve, collared midi that comes in several colours and has sold over 25,000 units. Denim is also a major category, accounting for more than half of the label’s sales. (“Denim’s really our DNA,” Seymour says. “We make it 100% in Istanbul, using organic cotton and a Jeanologia technology that uses 80% less water.”) 

Despite its proven digital prowess, Aligne is the kind of brand that grows through word of mouth: Where did you get that dress? It’s from Aligne! Born in east London, it specialises in classic, design-led pieces that focus on timelessness rather than trends. 

“To me, Aligne is about creating a product that speaks to confident women who are going places,” Seymour says. “Whether you're going to lunch, the boardroom or a sports activity, wearing Aligne means celebrating a community of strong females that dress for themselves.” 

With sizes ranging from UK 4 to UK 22 and a price point that stays around £65 to £200 for most pieces, the brand has garnered a wide-ranging appeal. Aligne works primarily with natural fibres but, as Seymour says, “We don't want to be known as a sustainable brand.” 

“I think that was probably overused when the brand first came out,” she continues. “At the end of the day, we're a fashion brand making products. But there's no item in our collection that has less than 50% sustainable materials.”

What’s most crucial to Aligne’s growth is its community, Seymour argues. “To be able to have these other confident females be part of our storytelling — it just feels so aligned with our ethos.” 

That’s what inspired the Bronze campaign back in spring: “I think about when David Beckham was really big and every fashion brand was trying to get him. The correlation between men’s fashion and sport has always existed, and this change was finally happening in female sport. I wanted to enter the conversation as a small brand, because female athletes stand for every single adjective I would want to be described as myself. I just adore her and that campaign and what it stands for.”

This summer, Bronze received her honorary doctorate from Leeds Beckett University dressed in head-to-toe Aligne. In a perfect example of the brand’s versatility, her mum, aunt and sister were all kitted out in the brand, too. 

As Aligne continues to bring confidence-building clothing to the women that want it, the team’s goals include brick-and-mortar stores and more athlete partnerships within the next year. “It's like my little baby,” says Seymour, “and I just can't wait to see it grow and shine.”