There is a particular kind of frustration that comes with finding the perfect pair of trousers, only to discover that they were never quite long enough. For women standing at 5ft 9in and above, this is more than an occasional wardrobe inconvenience. It can mean limited choices, compromised personal style and the feeling that the fashion industry has designed its world around everyone but you.
From “Nothing Fits” to Fashion Success: How Irene Agbontaen Built TTYA by Dressing Tall Women
For Irene Agbontaen, that frustration became the beginning of something much bigger.
The London-based stylist and entrepreneur founded TTYA, short for Taller Than Your Average, in 2013 after experiencing first-hand the difficulties of finding fashionable wardrobe essentials for taller women. What started as a search for clothes that fitted properly grew into a brand that secured retail opportunities with Selfridges, ASOS and Barneys New York. TTYA’s official website and earlier industry coverage document the brand’s journey.
Speaking at UK Black Business Week, Agbontaen in London on 15th October, she offered a candid look into the thinking, relationships and operational decisions behind her entrepreneurial journey. Her story was not simply about spotting a gap in fashion. It was about understanding a customer, convincing an industry to pay attention and learning that a promising product is only one part of building a sustainable business.
The frustration that inspired TTYA
Before TTYA became a fashion label, Agbontaen was a tall girl struggling to find clothes that fitted her frame.
One of her most memorable challenges came during secondary school, when finding suitable trousers became an exhausting exercise. The options available did not provide the length or fashionable fit she wanted, leaving her with few alternatives.
The experience affected more than her wardrobe. It shaped how she felt about belonging in a fashion culture that appeared to overlook women like her.
In an industry that frequently celebrates individuality, the limited options for taller women exposed an uncomfortable contradiction: fashion encouraged people to express themselves while leaving some customers struggling to find the basics.
Agbontaen eventually decided that waiting for the industry to solve the problem was not enough.
She would create a brand that did.
TTYA was built around a straightforward proposition: women should not have to compromise on style simply because of their height. Its early collections focused on wardrobe staples, including longer-length basics designed specifically for taller women.
The idea was personal, but its commercial potential lay in the number of other women who shared the same frustration.
Her first business lesson was hiding in plain sight: a problem you understand intimately can become a market opportunity when other people are experiencing it too.
From merchandising to building a fashion identity
Agbontaen’s route into entrepreneurship was not an overnight leap from idea to fashion founder. Her experience in merchandising and the wider fashion industry helped her understand how products were presented, how consumers responded to visual identities and what made a brand stand out.
Her subsequent experience at ASOS exposed her to the mechanics of e-commerce, styling and fashion production. It also reinforced the importance of representation in product photography, where customers need to see clothing presented in a way that reflects how it might look on their own bodies.
These experiences gave her more than an appreciation for good design. They provided insight into the commercial machinery behind fashion.
She understood that a product needed to do more than look attractive. It needed to solve a problem, communicate its purpose and reach the people who would buy it.
That knowledge became particularly valuable when she began positioning TTYA for retail buyers.
Rather than treating the brand as another fashion label competing for attention, she could explain what made its customer different and why the products deserved space in the market.
It was a reminder that entrepreneurial experience does not always begin with owning a business. Sometimes, the skills acquired while working for someone else become the foundations of a venture of your own.
How TTYA got the attention of Selfridges
Getting a fashion brand stocked by a major department store requires more than a good collection. Buyers need reasons to believe that the products will sell.
Agbontaen approached that challenge by drawing on her understanding of the industry, identifying relevant buyers and presenting TTYA as a solution to an overlooked consumer need.
At Black Business Week, she recalled the importance of proving the concept rather than relying on enthusiasm alone.
One of her presentation strategies involved suspending garments from the ceiling at a trade show, making the collection visible from a distance and helping it stand out among competing exhibitors.
It was a practical demonstration of creative thinking in business. The product mattered, but so did the way it was presented.
She also used consumer data to communicate the scale of the opportunity, citing an estimated 150 million tall women worldwide during the discussion. That figure should be treated as a claim made during the session rather than an independently verified current market estimate, but the principle behind her approach was clear: buyers needed to see evidence of demand.
TTYA went on to secure a retail opportunity with Selfridges, helping establish the brand’s presence in the fashion market. The brand subsequently reached customers through retailers including ASOS and Barneys New York.
For emerging fashion entrepreneurs, the lesson is worth noting. A compelling pitch should explain three things: who the customer is, what problem the product solves and why the opportunity makes commercial sense.
Passion might open a conversation. Evidence gives the other person a reason to listen.
Why visibility matters as much as the product
A beautifully made garment cannot generate sales if potential customers do not know it exists.
This was one of the challenges Agbontaen had to confront as TTYA developed. Her experience in styling and merchandising had taught her how to make products look appealing, but building a brand demanded a different skill set.
Visibility required deliberate work.
Digital marketing, search engine optimisation, social media and consumer feedback became important tools for connecting the brand with its audience and understanding what customers wanted.
For a specialist fashion business, this matters enormously. The audience may be underserved, but it still needs to discover the brand, understand its value and trust the product enough to make a purchase.
Social media can help a business test ideas and build a community, while customer feedback can reveal which products deserve further investment. Search visibility can also help customers find a brand when they are actively looking for a solution.
The important distinction is between generating attention and building a business. Attention may introduce customers to a brand, but product quality, fit, service and consistency give them reasons to return.
When growth brings unexpected problems
The fashion industry often presents the polished version of entrepreneurship: campaign images, successful collaborations, retail launches and beautifully arranged collections.
Agbontaen’s account at Black Business Week also highlighted the less glamorous side of building a brand.
One early Selfridges order reportedly suffered water damage, creating an urgent problem just as the business was preparing to deliver.
Instead of treating the incident as a minor inconvenience, the situation demanded a closer look at the factory, the production process and the practical arrangements required to get the order completed. The initial shipment was transported with help from her mother, illustrating how hands-on and personal the logistics of an early-stage business can become.
The experience exposed a reality that applies well beyond fashion: a product can be ready, a buyer can be interested and a launch can be planned, yet a failure somewhere in the supply chain can threaten the entire exercise.
For a small business, the consequences can be particularly serious. Damaged stock, delayed deliveries and replacement costs can eat into already limited margins.
Agbontaen emphasised the importance of insurance, risk procedures and systems that help businesses respond to problems consistently rather than improvising every time something goes wrong.
Her experience also underlined the importance of assessing suppliers and building supply chains that can withstand disruption. COVID-19 would later reinforce the need for flexibility as businesses across the fashion industry faced production and delivery challenges.
The lesson is simple: resilience is not just about recovering from a setback. It is about building a business that is better prepared for the next one.
Collaborations, footwear and the power of unmet demand
TTYA’s growth also demonstrated the value of collaboration.
The brand’s work with established retailers and fashion partners helped it reach audiences that would have been more difficult to access independently. Earlier industry coverage documents its collaboration with Long Tall Sally, while the brand’s retail history includes ASOS and Selfridges.
During the Black Business Week discussion, Agbontaen also described a footwear collaboration with ASOS that followed initial setbacks. The project highlighted another potential gap in the market: taller women can struggle to find footwear that complements their proportions and personal style.
The wider point was not that every collaboration automatically succeeds. It was that partnerships can help a specialist brand extend its reach, test customer demand and benefit from another company’s infrastructure or expertise.
Agbontaen also spoke about the importance of understanding where her own strengths lay. She was drawn more towards marketing and creative direction than the demands of manufacturing and operational logistics.
That recognition informed her thinking about TTYA LAB and a partnership-led approach to the business.
The implication for founders is significant. Building a company does not mean doing every job personally forever. Knowing which activities require your direct attention, and which are better handled by experienced partners, can make growth more sustainable.
Networking does not always happen in a boardroom
Another striking theme from Agbontaen’s conversation was the value of organic networking.
Formal networking events can create useful introductions, but some of the most lasting professional relationships develop in everyday environments where people have the opportunity to interact naturally.
Agbontaen discussed how her experiences in hospitality, including work in nightlife and hotels, brought her into contact with people across creative industries. Those connections became part of a wider professional network that supported collaborations and opened doors to opportunities.
The discussion also touched on product placements involving high-profile talent, including Kylie Jenner, and the value of working alongside people whose audiences and interests align with a brand.
The lesson is not to treat every social encounter as a business transaction. It is to recognise that relationships built through genuine interaction can become valuable over time.
People may remember the quality of your work, but they also remember how you work with them.
For founders operating with limited marketing budgets, authentic relationships can create opportunities for collaboration, visibility and advice that would otherwise be difficult to secure.
Why fair pay and representation remain important
Agbontaen’s journey has also been shaped by a desire for meaningful representation and fair recognition.
Building a brand around an underserved audience meant challenging assumptions about who fashion is designed for and which customers deserve attention.
It also required intentional decisions about the work she accepted, the partnerships she pursued and the value attached to her creative contribution.
Rather than making self-promotion the centre of her approach, she described allowing projects and media coverage to demonstrate the work being done.
That approach reflects an important balance for creative entrepreneurs: visibility is necessary, but it should not come at the expense of fair compensation or the integrity of the brand.
A business can build an audience and attract prestigious partnerships while still needing to negotiate carefully, protect its margins and ensure that its contribution is recognised.
The relaunch of TTYA LAB, as discussed during the session, reflects an effort to bring accumulated experience, strategic partnerships and product knowledge into the next phase of the business.
It is not simply about making more clothes. It is about reconsidering how the business should operate.
What aspiring fashion entrepreneurs can learn from Irene Agbontaen
Agbontaen’s story offers practical lessons for anyone preparing to launch a fashion brand, particularly entrepreneurs working with limited resources.
1. Solve a problem people genuinely experience.
A personal frustration can be a useful starting point, but it becomes a business opportunity when research and customer conversations establish that others share the need.
2. Understand your customer before investing heavily.
Learn what customers want, what they currently buy, what they find frustrating and what they are willing to pay for. Do not confuse social media engagement with proven purchasing demand.
3. Make the commercial case.
Buyers, investors and potential partners need to understand the market, the customer and the product’s distinctive value. A strong presentation should be supported by credible evidence.
4. Treat marketing as part of the business, not an afterthought.
Brand identity, photography, social media and search visibility all influence how customers discover and understand a product.
5. Prepare for operational risks.
Supplier problems, damaged stock and delivery delays can disrupt a launch. Appropriate insurance, supplier checks, contingency plans and clear procedures help limit the impact.
6. Collaborate strategically.
The right partnership can provide access to customers, skills and distribution that would be expensive to develop alone. The key is to understand what each party contributes and what the business gains.
7. Know what to outsource.
Founders do not need to become experts in every aspect of running a company. Recognising where outside expertise can improve efficiency allows them to focus on their strongest contributions.
8. Build relationships that last beyond one transaction.
Professional relationships can develop into collaborations, referrals and long-term support. Authenticity and reliability matter more than collecting contacts.
From a wardrobe problem to a business with a purpose
Irene Agbontaen’s journey with TTYA demonstrates how a business can emerge from a problem that the wider market has overlooked.
Her frustration with finding clothes that fitted was the starting point. Industry experience helped her understand how to position the brand. Retail relationships created opportunities for growth, while setbacks revealed the importance of operational discipline, collaboration and adaptability.
The story is also a reminder that inclusive fashion is not only a conversation about representation. It is a commercial question about who gets served, what customers need and whether businesses are prepared to build products around those needs.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, the most useful takeaway may be that a strong idea is only the beginning. The challenge is turning that idea into something customers can find, afford, trust and return to.
Sometimes, the next business opportunity is not hiding in a trend forecast or an investor presentation. It is sitting in the everyday frustration that everyone has learned to accept.
Agbontaen chose to do something about hers. TTYA was the result.
UK Black Buisness Week 2026
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