We Run a Marketing Agency in London—Here's What We Really Wear to Work

Determining what to wear to work is never an easy choice, but it can be even more of a challenge when your job isn’t the typical 9-to-5. In a bid to shake up our own work wardrobes, we sought out the advice of some of the best dressed women at work. Next up are Jordan Mitchell and Liz MacCuish, the founders and driving forces behind London-based marketing agency Good Culture, responsible for taking some of the biggest brands, campaigns and tastemakers in the world out of category and into culture.

As the duo balance fast-paced schedules with a growing business and parental duties, we asked them what workwear means to them and how their personal style changes for each of the (very) different roles they play day to day. 

How did you meet and how have you found the journey from starting out to launching Good Culture?

LM: I’ve been lucky enough to work with Jordan for around 15 years, and our relationship genuinely goes from strength to strength. We set up Good Culture during the pandemic. We wanted to take the time to really think intentionally about how we could best articulate all of our business services, which went far beyond traditional comms. The landscape had changed and so had we. It was time to realise our value and represent the breadth of our offering. Good Culture is both a name and a behaviour, and it keeps us focused and accountable.

How does what you wear to the office differ from your off-duty and weekend wardrobes?

JM: For me, getting dressed is theatre; an opportunity to step into how I want to feel and what energy I want to project. You could probably describe my style as "mob wife". I tend to always wear heels (I’m currently rotating between my Bottega knee-high boots and my Prada platforms), and I love co-ords—I'm currently wearing my Wardrobe.NYC denim shirt and midi skirt the most. I also adore The Frankie Shop, and I have the most amazing jumpsuit with padded shoulders that make me feel like a total boss. I'm really getting into ties, too, and I have a black Prada tie which I wear with shirts and jeans for a real power-up! On the weekends, I’m a lot more low-key, and you can find me in my Barbour waxed jacket with jeans or my Entire Studios black puffer jacket and Alo Yoga leggings. When it comes to shoes, it's my Acne Studios wedge boots for ease and speed, and if it’s a trainer moment, I have my Louis Vuitton sneakers that go with everything.

LM: It’s been a funny few years of mostly working from home, and I for one am delighted to be back in our office and out and about at meetings or travelling for the majority of the working week. I recently had a huge wardrobe clear-out, which was so cathartic. I want to consume less and buy better this year (sometimes we're all guilty of shopping unnecessarily to get that hit), so I am changing my behaviour and it feels good to shed. Less is better, and that is also a mantra we apply to work. We should all reframe our relationship with fashion with regard to quality and quantity; quantity is no longer viable and I’m inspired by the work my friend Tiffanie Darke is doing to educate us all in this area. She has a rule of five—only buy five new things per year—but there are so many other ways to supplement and get a fix. I love using rental sites like Hurr and My Wardrobe HQ for work events, and I think figuring out what suits your silhouette is a game changer that makes life so much easier.

I love the cut of Vampire’s Wife dresses, and I rented a tartan one recently for Chris and Tammy Kane’s Burns Night event in London. During the working week, if it’s an office day, comfort comes first (in fact, it does with everything now), and I’ll wear vintage Levi's with an oversized, white shirt and blazer (my current favourite is a double-breasted vintage Burberry jacket), adding a sleeveless, high-neck, khaki jumper by Soeur in the colder months—layering is key when you are going from sweaty underground to air-con office. I try to walk as much as possible too, so I wear trainers most days, and I still get compliments on my beloved leopard-print Nikes that my husband bought me about five years ago.

LM: If I have a meeting I'll wear tailored, high-waisted trousers, likely from Margaret Howell or ROKSANDA for Jigsaw, and add a navy, cashmere jumper from NavyGrey or COS men, with Russell & Bromley brogues. If I’m going out after work, I might switch to my wedding shoes; a pair of Aquazzura pearl sandals that have been the best investment [pictured below]. I feel like we used to justify extravagant purchases with their ‘cost per wear’, but now I prefer ‘cost per compliment’, and by that rationale, they were a bargain. I’d love to get a suit made this year and I have my eyes on The Deck London, but I also love vintage clothes and recently found the most incredible shop in a small German town called Uberlingen which sits on the edge of Lake Constance. The edit was unbelievable, and I got a black Valentino top with a huge oversized bow which is a real showstopper, and a pair of Gucci shoes I’d wanted for years.

Weekends are spent ferrying children to clubs and trying to fit a Pilates class in, so I’ll be in Farm Rio x Adidas gym kit on a Saturday morning and then likely Rachel Comey high-waisted jeans and a grey, oversized hoodie from Everlane under a camel cashmere coat. I’m saving for Max Mara, but for now it’s Me + Em. I’m also a huge fan of a Barbour jacket—who isn’t—and we are lucky enough to work with them, so I have a few to choose from. They go with everything and are the perfect mix of cool and practical.

You represent some of the most influential brands and talent in the industry. How do you discover new clients and what gets you most excited about sharing their stories?

LM: It’s a real combination of our leadership team constantly coming up with a list of dream brands and clients we want to work with, and those that align with our personal and professional values—creating a more diverse, inclusive and equitable environment in the world of fashion and luxury lifestyle. We might approach brands who need help with cultural relevance and future-proofing; we have a great track record of repositioning brands and we are known for taking brands out of category and into culture (Skims and Airbnb are examples of this). We also get a lot of inbound enquires and have a reputation for delivering world-class cultural strategy and programming, delivering fame-driving influencer marketing campaigns and creating a huge uplift in visibility and sales. At Glastonbury last year, we had Lily James, Billie Piper, Gemma Chan and Dominic Cooper in Barbour jackets and the images went viral. The net result was a 400% increase in sales. Recently, we have worked with some of our dream brands including Marc Jacobs, Airbnb, Bumble, Alo Yoga and The Body Shop, and once we share a case study, it usually results in the phone ringing, which is wonderful.

JM: Discovering new clients is a really intentional process for me. I invest substantial time researching marketing trends and identifying emerging growth areas within the landscape. The partnerships we pursue need to align with the overarching narrative of Good Culture, and we view each brand and talent as integral components of our storytelling. I get excited when working with clients; navigating new markets, categories or transformative moments that demand a fresh perspective. Collaborating with talents on the brink of change, amplifying their voices through strategic partnerships and contributing to their profile elevation are things that really motivate us.

What was your first pinch-me moment—the moment you realised something you’d worked on had had an impact?

LM: Launching Skims, Alo Yoga and Tracee Ellis Ross’ brand Pattern in the UK have been real pinch-me moments in the short time Good Culture has been around. Having the trust of huge U.S. businesses [as] the chosen partner in Europe is really special. We also leave room for philanthropic projects, and we recently launched a campaign to try to remove the stigma around sex after cancer. We supported the amazing GirlvsCancer charity and were overwhelmed with the support we received from the media and the talent we asked to share on their platforms. 

JM: The seminal pinch-me moment for me was with the UK launch of Pattern. Beyond its performance as a haircare brand, the opportunity was about amplifying the voices of Black women and their experiences through the lens of beauty. Collaborating closely with Tracee Ellis Ross and the Pattern team to bring their vision to life marked an impactful milestone within the Good Culture narrative and my own journey as a founder.

As mums, business owners and podcast hosts, you have to wear a lot of different hats in your day-to-day lives. How do you stay true to your style whilst still meeting all of these needs?

LM: I tend to keep it simple. I’m envious of my kids putting a uniform on every day! When I look at whose style I most admire, it’s confident, [accomplished] women who know what suits them. The late Jane Birkin once told me that her secret to looking chic but staying comfortable is to buy a size bigger than you need, and invariably it will [be more flattering]. I've done that ever since. Oh, and borrow your partner’s clothes. My husband and I share clothes, and when considering buying something, [we'll] often say, "That’ll look good on us." My uniform is vintage jeans (blue or black), a white shirt or tee and a well-fitting blazer. You can pretty much go anywhere in that. [Swap in] a silk blouse and a small heel if you're going straight out from the office. 

JM: One thing about me is you’ll always see me in [heels]. It’s the red thread in my style. My late nan (my father's mother) was a dressmaker, and I remember walking in one of her fashion shows as a child. She always looked impeccable. My grandmother (on my mother's side) was the biggest shopaholic and loved making and buying clothes too, so I guess I inherited their love of clothes and style.

Who are your style icons, and how have they influenced the way you dress?

LM: I love confident older women who wear simple clothes well, like Gillian Anderson, the late Jane Birkin, Caroline de Maigret, stylist Cathy Kasterine, Laura Bailey and my huge girl crush Pamela Anderson (especially with the no makeup look). I imagine these women have worked on creating a capsule wardrobe that works hard for them. They probably have 10 great-quality pieces they wear and intermix on rotation. That's what I aspire to, and then to rent pieces for special occasions. 

JS: I draw inspiration from various sources. I admire Tracee Ellis Ross for her vibrant, free-spirited style, Alex Karl for her classic aesthetic, Georgia Medley for embodying chic, "mob wife" energy; and Christine Centenera, founder of Wardrobe NYC. Each has played a role in shaping my evolving approach to fashion.

How has your style evolved from when you first started out compared to now?

LM: Throughout (the best part) of my career, I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s most stylish and celebrated women: Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Laura Jackson, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Laura Bailey and Clara Amfo, to name a few. I’m friends with incredible stylists like Leith Clark, Aimee Croysdill, Cathy Kasterine and Martha Ward, and all of these women have a signature style that suits them. What I had, for a large part of my twenties and thirties, was an identity crisis where I would be so inspired by elements of each that I would try to replicate looks and styles, not appreciating they did not suit me at all! But with age, the love of a partner and great friends and family comes confidence—and I’m entering into my confident style era!

JM: I was big into my "indie sleaze" and vintage era, and you could always find me in Beyond Retro trying to fashion a look. But [what] hasn’t changed is my love of blazers, padded shoulders, short skirts and high heels. I’ve always loved expressing myself through fashion, and even though it has refined and elevated over the years, I think my style has stayed pretty much the same.

What does a typical day look like for you?

JM: Up at 6 a.m., head downstairs to have a shot of Symprove probiotic drink (gut health is wealth), then go straight into a HIIT Pilates session on YouTube; Eleni Fit is my current go-to. After that, I’ll get my boys Jude and Jaxson ready for school. I drop off Jude and Jaxson has autism so he has a special bus to come and collect him from the house. I tend to plan my day the night before, and I have a pretty strict time-blocking system so that I can try to combine all of the action points across the talent division, brand division, new business acquisition and business development into an ongoing Google sheet which I separate out every week. The nature of the work is that no day is the same; one day I’ll be in L.A. for a campaign shoot with a client, and another we’ll be advising clients on their cultural strategy roadmap. On average, I’m at events two to three times per week, and it’s crucial for building a network and being amongst culture.

Recently, we had the team away at Bamford Spa for our client Alo Yoga, and Manifest Live with Roxie Nafousi at Alexandra Palace in London. No two days are the same, which is what I love. I try to work from home on Mondays and Fridays, but when I’m in the office I get home at around 6:30 or 7 p.m., then my evenings are dedicated to family, with return-to-work mode post-bedtime, extending into the night.

What's your favourite go-to outfit, and how does it make you feel?

LM: I have a green, corduroy jumpsuit by British designer Anna Mason, and it's the most flattering item I have ever owned. It makes me feel great and the quality is incredible. I also love my wedding dress, again by Mason; I’m actually thinking of asking her to turn it into a blouse and skirt as I love the idea of wearing it again and again and taking the memories of that special day with me. I’d wear the top with vintage jeans and my Gucci heels and [tone] down the long, gold skirt with a white tee and Chanel "boy" sandals.

JM: Right now, I'm obsessed with my black, round-shoulder, cashmere Balenciaga coat. I also adore my denim skirt-and-top combo from White Stuff (who knew?) paired with a Saint Laurent belt and Bottega boots [pictured below] as my current go-to outfit.

What advice would you give to women thinking of setting up and starting their own business? 

LM: DO IT. Read and listen to podcasts from entrepreneurs you admire and ensure How to Fail is on there. What Elizabeth Day has done in re-framing failures is masterful. Know it’s the hardest you will ever work, but ultimately, it’s with the greatest reward.

JM: Running a business feels like 50% trying to make it happen, 20% saying "Yay, it’s happening!" and 30% keeping it happening. Launching and sustaining a business demands a blend of resilience, confidence and continuous learning to keep forging forward. It's crucial to be well-researched and confident yet open to learning, and [you need to] have the ability to build a strong network. Consistency, passion and adaptability are key, with the understanding that challenges are opportunities for growth. My mantra is "If you're not winning, you're learning", and it helps to process obstacles.

What's on your vision board for 2024?  

JM: Finding time. Time to focus on my physical and financial well-being and to continue to do things that nourish my soul and create happiness for me and my family. Time to focus more on myself and the things that make me feel great, care less about what other people think and focus more on how I feel about myself. I'd love to travel more, invest more and approach things through a long-term lens. Continuing to grow the business to stratospheric heights, and to become globally recognised and coveted as a destination cultural marketing agency. 

LM: A family trip to Japan. We are a blended family with five kids, and I’d love to find a holiday where we could all be immersed in another culture and everyone is stimulated. [Also], a second home where we can escape out of London at weekends and during holidays. We have discovered the Isle of Wight over the past five years, and it brings me untold joy every time the ferry pulls into Yarmouth and we are moments away from seeing our friends and returning to island life for the weekend. [And] consistency in regards to self-care—regular pilates sessions and using the Ruuby app for monthly lymphatic drainage massages. And of course, growing our business. We're only just getting started!

SHOP LIZ AND JORDAN'S STYLE:

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