Northern Ireland mum-of-three is Wild & Free after swapping corporate world and setting up outdoor clothing business

Mum-of-three Aisling Bremner founded local sustainable outerwear brand Wild & Free, with the aim of encouraging people to spend more time in the great outdoors and choose nature’s medicine to get balance and joy in their busy lives by spending more time outdoors.

The Magherafelt entrepreneur swapped the corporate world to launch her outdoor clothing brand which she runs alongside her brand marketing business, Aisling Bremner Marketing.

During Covid we were spending more time at our caravan in Portballintrae and enjoying more time outdoors. Professionally I was a bit burnt out and at a crossroads. Whilst I had a very successful job in the corporate world, I come from an entrepreneurial family, my father had a thriving property business and I’ve always wanted to have my own business and my own brand.

I was sea swimming on the north coast and there were a lot of people in dry robes. I could see these coats and I wondered if I should get one, but they were all so massively oversized and heavily branded, which didn’t suit my personal taste which was for my subtle, elegant pieces. I read reviews of all the different brands and I could see so many things I’d love to change.

I could see a gap in the market for sophisticated versatile outerwear, a timeless aesthetic that lends itself to so many different activities beyond just sea swimming. It was then that I decided I could design and make my own so I decided to fuse my love of the outdoors and my background in brand and in marketing – and Wild & Free was born.

I worked on product design and development for about eight months. In this time, I made the decision to give up my job and also started my marketing company. It was a busy time!

However this allowed me to dedicate more time to creating Wild & Free. The Wild & Free range includes raincoats, hoodies, accessories, t-shirts all made from sustainable materials. Our hero product is the Cobe – a luxurious and cosy raincoat and dry robe in one. The Cobe range is unisex, sustainable, of the highest quality and functionally built to last and it’s not just for those who enjoy cold water immersion. The cobe is designed to be multi-functional, so it looks like a coat but functions like a robe, that’s where the name COBE came from.

I wanted to create something that you could wear after a sea swim yes, but also a piece that is cosy and waterproof enough to walk the dog or watch the kids play football and stylish enough to wear as a beautiful raincoat for the coffee or school run!

Our passion for sustainability runs deeper than just recycled materials and packaging, designing pieces to be versatile helps people get more wear from what they do buy.

Over the last few years, as well as developing our range, I’m proud of the community of like-minded people that we have established. Together, we want to find more balance and more moments of simple joy and feeling truly alive in life.

Earlier this year, we encouraged people to embrace the benefits of cold water therapy to reset and renew – both mentally and physically – by taking part in the Dip A Day Challenge.

We were thrilled with the reaction we got, with hundreds of people taking part and discovering the positive benefits of cold water therapy for themselves, and feeling happier, healthier and stronger for it.

We’re looking forward to creating more community events and challenges in the months ahead, so watch this space!