Good Squish scrunchies are an editor

Meet your new crowning glory

A version of this article ran in the June 2023 issue of Cosmopolitan UK.

A DM from Chloë Sevigny asking to purchase one of your creations is fashion industry gold dust, but that’s exactly what Billie-Jo Cronin, founder of Good Squish, received. Sevigny later tagged the brand in a selfie, and sales snowballed. Cronin says it was “both amazing and bizarre,” because Sevigny was Cronin’s top celebrity muse when the brand was still just a daydream.

The London label has been handcrafting gloriously oversized scrunchies since 2021, and these days, you can’t cross a borough without spotting a Good Squish out in the wild. Cronin sustainably uses deadstock fabric that would otherwise go to waste, meaning that many of the designs are one of a kind. Now when they hold a deadstock sale on Instagram, each item gets hundreds of purchase requests. “It always shocks me; we’re a 3 to 4 person operation. I sometimes get messages saying it's like getting a Glastonbury ticket, which is hilarious.”

The brand was birthed as a personal creative outlet for Cronin; somewhere she could express herself outside of the limitations and deadlines of her day job. “I had this big collection of Victorian lace and beautiful fabrics, and I wanted to realise my daydreams of wearing them in my hair.” And realise she did.

In the first year, the brand operated entirely out of her living room, and she hand-delivered parcels around Hackney on her bicycle. Today, local seamstresses fulfil orders in their studio, and her brother Phoenix-Blu has now joined as her business partner. (A move which Cronin says was the “best decision ever,” because they each have different strengths to help build the business.)

I bought a giant white broderie anglaise one myself last summer (that's me wearing it below), and it was my single best accessory purchase of the season. Whether I'm wearing beat-up jeans and a vest or my favourite sundress, the giant plume of ruffles on my head creates an eye-catching focal point for any outfit. I think it looks like you're wearing a crown, or perhaps a flower in your hair. Girls in London always either stop me to ask me where I got mine, or give me a knowing smile and say, "Is that a Good Squish?" And tell me what colour theirs is.

Cronin says, “My brother and I always laugh, because whenever we are going through a hard time, we always see someone wearing a Good Squish at that exact moment. It's so funny, and really affirming. We have been so lucky to have such a vast community surrounding the brand, it's a really beautiful thing.”

Psst, if you're picking up a new Good Squish for your heatwave wardrobe, why not browse our edits of cowboy boots, plus size summer dresses, or bikinis for small boobs? Happy summering!

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