When Tallulah Willis first launched her label, Wyllis, earlier this year, she had little idea of the challenges the following months would bring. “It’s been a real education,” she says over the phone from her home in Los Angeles. “It was already an unprecedented thing for me to start this project and enter the fashion world, but I made the decision to pause promotion on social media for a few months at the height of the pandemic. It just felt inappropriate to be pushing a product during a time of massive grief.”
It was a risky move, but one that speaks to the principles of empathy and inclusivity that Willis has quickly established as the brand’s guiding philosophy. Built on a set of three “nonnegotiables,” as Willis describes them—size inclusivity, accessible price points, and a fundamental belief that fashion can be used as a vehicle for advocacy—it’s this strength of purpose that has allowed Willis to take the next step forward feeling more confident than ever. “I think the stops and starts have made us stronger as a brand, and it helped me gain a deeper understanding of what I’m really trying to achieve here,” she adds.