LONDON — Two arty sisters who grew up around cashmere knitwear and developed a love of color and silhouette from an early age are finally getting their childhood wish and designing their own collection, called Skye by Brora.
Jesse and Lola Pilkington are the daughters of Victoria Stapleton, founder of the cashmere specialist Brora, and when they were growing up, they had a lot to say about their mother’s designs.
“We’re five sisters and when we were young, Vic started a kids range and basically we were always trying to give her input on the clothing,” Jesse said with a laugh during an interview alongside Lola at Brora’s Marylebone store.
The cotton crochet sundress from the Skye by Brora spring 2026 collection.
The brand, known for its high-end knits made by Johnstons of Elgin, has nine stores in the U.K. and a further one on Madison Avenue in New York. In addition to offering knitwear for women, men and children, it makes cotton, linen and wool separates.
After years of offering their style advice, the sisters finally had their say in 2023 when Stapleton asked them to create a one-off collection marking Brora’s 30th anniversary. The capsule, aimed at a younger audience, was a hit and the sisters haven’t stopped designing — despite their day jobs.
Jesse, who has a degree in English from the University of Bristol, works in costume design, researching and sourcing clothing for the big and small screen, while Lola, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, is a painter and multidisciplinary artist.
They’ve created a collection using the Brora DNA, but aimed at their own demographic and with lower price points. Sweaters are lambswool, rather than cashmere, and made in Portugal with wool spun in Scotland.
The check skirt and matching top from the spring 2026 Skye by Brora collection.
Hemlines are shorter — some are even above the knee — while the silhouettes are edgier than the main brand. The name, Skye, reflects the sisters’ approach. While Brora is located in the Scottish Highlands, Skye is a island in the Inner Hebrides, an offshoot of the mainland, with a different look and feel.
The sisters have infused the collections with their passions, which include Edwardian-era lace and crochet, uniform tailoring and lingerie knitwear techniques. They also draw on their backgrounds for inspiration.
As part of her work, Jesse creates mood boards and is often tasked with hunting down historic clothing for film and TV projects. Lola has been wearing vintage since she was a kid, and regularly trawls market stalls, websites such as eBay and Etsy, and her own vintage-stuffed wardrobe for inspiration.
“I go to a lot of vintage markets — I love looking at old lace — and I always have my sketchbook with me. Sometimes the inspiration comes from a painting I’m working on, or something else that I see. It’s a patchwork of different things,” Lola said.
The olive military-inspired suit from Skye by Brora’s spring 2026 collection.
This season, the sisters’ travels and research led them to create a white broderie anglaise top with a sailor collar; a lineup of cotton crochet sundresses; a lace knit cardigan, and an asymmetric, button-front jacket and matching wide-leg trousers with military rigor. Every collection features one tailored suit, with a jacket or vest that can be paired with Skye’s dresses and skirts.
Prices range from around 95 pounds for an organic cotton shirt to 225 pounds for an organic cotton and lace dress. The collection is sold online, and in Brora stores.
The collections are small, with around 30 pieces each, and revenue last year was around 1 million pounds, compared with Brora’s 20 million pounds. Jesse said the plan is to grow but not get too big. Brora is a B Corp company, and the aim is to work as sustainably as possible, and with only natural fibers.
A look from the Skye by Brora spring 2026 collection.
Jesse said that, going forward, the collections will remain small, with very small runs — 100 to 200 pieces — of each style.
“I don’t like it when you see a beautiful skirt from a [certain] brand, and it’s on every third woman walking down the street. I don’t want our clothes to become like that. I want Skye to feel like a hidden secret. We want it to grow, but slowly and sustainably,” she said.
