Fairfax & Favor: Inventing Rural Vogue
From childhood friends to the creators of one of Britain’s most coveted brands. Marcus Fairfax Fountaine and Felix Favor Parker practically invented ‘rural vogue’ when they established Fairfax & Favor in 2013. This month Marcus tells us why the company will never compromise on quality, and considers what the future will bring…
From the outside, Fairfax & Favor looks like one of those rare overnight successes. A brand that feels fully formed, confidently positioned and instantly recognisable.
The reality, as Marcus Fairfax Fountaine explains, is that the business is the product of years of thinking, refining and an almost stubborn refusal to compromise. “The principles for us are that we are not the cheapest product,” he says. “However, you will never get better value. We really believe that if you buy a good quality product, made with good construction and good quality materials, it should wear in rather than wearing out.”
That philosophy runs through everything Fairfax & Favor does. Founded in 2012 by Marcus and his lifelong friend Felix Favor Parker, the brand has become synonymous with what Marcus describes as “effortlessly elegant footwear” rooted in equestrian heritage but designed for everyday life. The two founders grew up in Norfolk, their parents living barely twenty minutes apart, and they went on to attend Stowe School in Buckinghamshire together.
“There are pictures of us around five years old at the birthday table together,” Marcus recalls. “Our parents knew each other, we were the same age, and then when we went to Stowe together that’s when our proper friendship really started.”
Both were keen to start a business long before Fairfax & Favor existed. At fifteen, they even flirted with the idea of manufacturing and selling bouncy castles, “presumably posh ones,” Marcus laughs. “It never really got past the draft stage, but what we did get from it was the name Fairfax & Favor.”
After leaving school, both ended up working for a Spanish luxury footwear brand attempting to expand into the UK. “After about six months we said to each other, why don’t we just give this a go ourselves?”
Those six months proved formative. “What we really learned there was what makes a quality boot,” Marcus explains. “The parts of the leather, the construction, the tanneries, the finishing, the difference between a Goodyear welt and a Blake stitch… all the invisible things that make a difference.” The two spent time in Spain with tanneries and manufacturers, absorbing knowledge that would become central to their own brand.
“We realised there was a real gap in the UK market, especially around the country lifestyle. You either had wellies that didn’t look great, or things that looked good but weren’t practical. Nothing ticked all the boxes.” The answer was what Marcus now refers to as rural vogue; footwear that is genuinely fit for purpose but refined enough to wear beyond the field.
“We wanted the quality to be as if it was a functional equestrian boot, but still create something you could wear out and about,” he says. That thinking led to the Regina boot, now an icon of the brand. “It’s a distilled interpretation of a more functional Spanish riding boot, brought into everyday life.”
The Regina did not arrive fully formed. “We spent about five years tweaking it,” Marcus admits. “It didn’t always have elastic in the back, it wasn’t always fully lined, the insole wasn’t as comfortable as it is now. We added a composite leather and rubber sole because leather looks beautiful but it’s slippery. It doesn’t take many customers to fall over and tell you about it.” Today, the Regina comes in multiple heel heights, calf widths and leg lengths. “It’s pretty much bespoke to a point now.”
That attention to detail is reflected across the collection. Fairfax & Favor works primarily with European manufacturers in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and the UK. “Wherever we make something, we want to make sure it’s fit for purpose,” Marcus says.
“It allows us to quality control, to get out to the factory, to have close relationships with suppliers. That’s how we uphold standards.” Materials matter just as much. “We try not to compromise. Full grain leather rather than split leather. It’s thicker, stronger and it wears in rather than wearing out.”
Equally important is how the brand listens. Unlike many fashion houses of its scale, Fairfax & Favor remains unusually close to its customers. Marcus and Felix can regularly be found on the stand at country shows, including Burghley Horse Trials. “We spend a lot of time just listening,” Marcus says. “What do customers like, what do they want? That’s probably something we do more than others.”
It was customer feedback that led to petite boot options and refinements to fit. “I had five or six people at one event try the boots on and say they were too tall. So we fixed it.”
That closeness extends to bricks and mortar retail, something the brand continues to champion at a time when many are retreating from the high street. The Stamford store, which opened in December 2021 and has just celebrated its fifth anniversary, is a case in point. Fairfax & Favor now operates several physical shops, reinforcing its belief that luxury is as much about service and connection as product.
Behind the scenes, the business employs around 80 people across its Norfolk creative office, based in 19th century stables at Narford Hall, and its warehouse in Thetford. A ten-strong design and development team works up to eighteen months ahead, recently bolstered by the appointment of a new Chief Creative Officer. “These things take time,” Marcus says. “The tanning of the leather alone can take weeks or even months, so we’re already working on autumn winter 2027.”
The company’s values extend beyond craftsmanship. Fairfax & Favor is a Certified B Corporation, reflecting its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. It has raised £500,000 for Breast Cancer Care and supported Cancer Research UK through a nine-day, 700-mile cycle ride from Bedingfield to Bordeaux in 2021. “Those certifications are really important to us,” Marcus says. “Our factories have to jump through hoops to work with us, but they’re hoops worth jumping through.”
Brand ambassadors such as Zara Tindall reinforce the brand’s authentic ties to the equestrian world. “There’s a great alignment,” Marcus says simply. That alignment is helping fuel international growth, particularly in the United States, where Fairfax & Favor is now investing heavily in events and visibility. “The British heritage and equestrian links really resonate.”
Despite the scale and ambition, the original mindset remains unchanged. “We won’t compromise,” Marcus says. “We could make things cheaper, but we choose not to.”
It is a position that has earned Fairfax & Favor not just commercial success, but something rarer: loyalty. Customers return, replace, upgrade and recommend, confident that the brand will stand by its principles, just as it always has.
Fairfax & Favor was established by Marcus Fairfax Fountaine and Felix Favor Parker in 2013. The company has nine retail studios including one on Stamford’s High Street: www.fairfaxandfavor.com.
Read our full feature in the March edition of Lincolnshire Pride, available at https://www.pridemagazines.co.uk/lincolnshire/view-magazines?magazine=March-2026