Amy Powney

Amy Powney is a UK based fashion designer, creative director and activist living in London. From the age of 10 she grew up on a farm, which was off grid in rural Lancashire with her sister and parents. Her family's lack of materialism would later become the grounding in her understanding of how we give and take from the earth.

In 2002, she studied Fashion Design at Kingston University. On completing her degree she started working at Mother of Pearl in 2006, working her way up to eventually take over the helm as Creative Director of the business until leaving her position in January 2025

In 2017, while at Mother of Pearl, she won the BFC / Vogue Designer Fashion Fund enabling her to launch No Frills in 2018. A core collection made from organic and natural materials, with a transparent supply chain, putting social responsibility, respect to animals and low-environmental impact first and foremost.

Amy’s trailblazing mission to create a sustainable collection from field to finished garment and transform the way we engage with fashion, formed the subject of Fashion Reimagined, an award nominated independent documentary released in cinemas and across streaming services globally in 2023. It was also the subject of her TED talk How To Fix Fashion And Protect The Planet, delivered in Detroit at TED Countdown 2024.

In January 2024, Amy decided to step away from her role at Mother of Pearl to launch AKYN. As Creative Director and partner of AKYN, Amy is able to use her voice and expertise on a wider scale, creating deeper impact and striving for continued and meaningful change within the industry.

Amy’s sustainable collections have been shown at London Fashion Week and Copenhagen Fashion Week (for which Amy now sits on the sustainability board) and have been stocked by prestigious global retailers including Net-a-Porter, Harrods, Neiman Marcus and Goop.

Through Mother of Pearl, and personally, Amy has embarked on a number of collaborations. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Campaign for Wool, Amy was asked by his then Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, to design a limited edition wool scarf to showcase the sustainable benefits of wool. Other collaborations include three sustainable jewellery lines with Monica Vinader, an outerwear collaboration with Finisterre, stationery with Papier and sustainable homeware with John Lewis.

Amy is also a brand ambassador for TENCEL™, the flagship brand under The Lenzing Group that covers textile specialty product fiber offerings that are wood based, biodegradable and derived from sustainably managed trees and renewable wood sources.

Watch more of Amy’s story in Fashion Reimagined and see Amy’s TED talk How To Fix Fashion And Protect The Planet.