Women have been shooting in dresses for hundreds of years, but shooting-specific tailoring for us has never been a thing - we've only ever been given the Gentlemen's section in a smaller size. As someone from BASC once told me so succinctly - they just "shrink it and pink it."
Austuin does things wildly differently. We just make whatever we actually want to wear, and then add on all of the shooting bits you need, like suede patches, recoil pads and big cartridge pockets.
The brand takes influence from all corners of country life - from Austin to Austen.
Despite having absolutely zero experience in the fashion industry, a shooting dress was one of those ideas that just wouldn't go away once I'd thought of it.
Lockdown gave me the perfect opportunity to explore the idea a bit further, and before I knew it I had a sample, a stand at the Game Fair, and still no idea what I was really doing. What I did know however, was that next time I turned up to Sporting Targets, I was going in a dress.
We are based in a small village between Stamford & Peterborough.
Sustainability is ingrained in rural life & by extension the brand. Everything is made by hand in the UK by local seamstresses. Sourcing sustainable fabrics turned out to be harder than anticipated, but they are always chosen where available. Our packaging will always be environmentally friendly. We take our responsibility to our community seriously, with 5% of profits going to a countryside charity.
The first collection is designed to be cross-seasonal: ideal for summer months on the clays where you don't want to be sweating in a tweed vest, but easily layered with tights, a shirt & jacket after the Glorious Twelfth.
