Amanda McCourt

Amanda McCourt is the Co-Founder of Not Basics – a clean fashion brand sitting at the intersection of wardrobe and skincare, creating skin-friendly basics designed to feel as good as they look.

After several years working in marketing and social media – Amanda realised she wanted to build something of her own. In 2020, she and her sister Katie launched Pantee, a waste-innovation brand turning deadstock t-shirts into underwear. What began as a sustainability experiment quickly grew into something bigger: a response to their own lived experiences with severe skin allergies (Katie) and sensory sensitivity (Amanda).

In September 2024, they rebranded to Not Basics, creating organic cotton wardrobe staples designed to be worn on repeat – skin-friendly alternatives to the polyester-heavy basics that dominate most wardrobes. Since launch, they’ve grown a community of over 70k, sold over £1m of product, and achieved five years of back-to-back growth.

Running the business across an eight-hour time zone – Amanda in the English countryside and Katie in Vancouver – the sisters have stayed lean, profitable, and community-led. In 2023, Amanda was named on Drapers’ 30 Under 30 list, recognised as one of thirty shaping the future of fashion. Amanda heads up brand and product at Not Basics, developing the best-selling styles at the heart of the brand, and driving a mission that proves fashion can be purposeful, personality-driven, and designed for real life.