Lincolnshire Fashion Designer: Natalie Harper Howell of Hunt & Hall
Natalie Harper Howell has experience of curating looks for high-end fashion magazines and clients about to step onto the red carpet. But her born-and-bred Lincolnshire brand, Hunt & Hall, offers luxury British-made clothing with genuine values, quality and longevity in every natural fibre…
I can’t help thinking that Natalie Harper Howell’s desire to curate a collection of timelessly stylish but versatile and wearable fashions is a bit like returning from LA to Lincolnshire. After living in the States, it must have been refreshing to move back somewhere a bit more down to earth, even if, today, the designer splits her time between the two.
Natalie was in Montecito and Beverly Hills back in December, but soon returned home, trading the opportunity to look out of her apartment window at the famous Hollywood sign for a view of fields with, at this time of year, dazzling yellow oilseed rape crops and golden fields of wheat instead.
After decades spent working at the very top of the fashion industry, from London to Los Angeles, Dubai to the pages of the world’s most prestigious magazines, she has returned to Lincolnshire not to replicate what already exists, but to build something rather different. Her brand, Hunt & Hall, is not about chasing trends or courting attention. Instead, it is rooted in experience, craftsmanship and a clear sense of purpose.
“I was born and raised in Sutton-on-Sea,” says Natalie. “I went to St Joseph’s School in Lincoln, which is now Lincoln Minster School. Back then I couldn’t wait to get out of Lincolnshire… so I moved down to London and I started working for a fashion retailer called Matches. That’s kind of where I started with my styling.”
Matches was, at the time, one of the most influential fashion retailers in the country, and Natalie quickly found herself working with clients like Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and with Premier League footballers, and the experience proved formative.
“I quickly moved into menswear where I learned about tailoring and suits… it was a great kind of starting block for me in understanding the technicalities of how clothing is made and what makes it last.”
The grounding she had in tailoring still informs Natalie’s work today. It also helped shape her understanding of proportion, fit and longevity, qualities that would later define Hunt & Hall.
Fashion, however, was always part of her upbringing. Trips to London with her mum left a lasting impression. “We’d always go down to London and be in all the boutiques; Kensington back then and King’s Road was like the place to be… it was all very exciting and it definitely inspired a love of fashion.”
After a decade in London, Natalie moved to Los Angeles, where her career expanded rapidly. She opened a boutique and began styling clients for red carpet events, including the Oscars. Editorial work followed, with commissions for titles such as Vanity Fair.
“I got asked to do a couple of photo shoots for editorials… lots of red carpets for the Oscars and all that kind of stuff.”
From LA, her career took her to Dubai, where Natalie worked in fashion editorial, becoming fashion editor for two magazines and freelancing for some of the most recognisable names in the industry.
Working with Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Tommy Hilfiger all became part of her professional life… not to mention the fact that she gained an ability to work with some of the world’s most demanding brands and the most demanding editors.
“It’s all of it,” she says of her role. “It’s the styling, it’s finding locations, putting together a team… you handle the whole production.”
That meant not just selecting clothes, but conceptualising entire shoots, locations, photographers, models, hair and make-up. For Natalie, these weren’t simply editorial spreads, they were works of art. “I look at it as creating artwork, not just a magazine feature… something I’d hang on my wall.”
Despite her global career, Lincolnshire has always remained part of her creative language. Over the years, she has returned repeatedly to shoot here, for clients, drawn by its variety and authenticity.
“I’ve shot all over Lincolnshire: Sutton-on-Sea Beach, Cleethorpes, the woods at Alford, Ludford… there are so many great locations here.” It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that when she came to establish her own brand, it would be rooted here.
Hunt & Hall was conceived in 2020, during a period of profound change. After years of travelling and working internationally, Natalie found herself reassessing both her career and her priorities.
“I’d always wanted to do my own clothing brand… so I started with my alpaca sweaters and cashmere beanies.”
Clients, familiar with her styling work, began asking where they could buy the items she had designed herself. “I started getting calls from customers asking where they were from and that’s pretty much how my brand started.”
From those early designs, Hunt & Hall has grown into a cohesive collection, defined by a clear philosophy: timeless style over trend-led fashion. Natalie is unequivocal on this point. “I just want something that will always stay in your wardrobe… not fashion-led that you’re trying to donate or sell later on.”
This approach informs everything from design to production and as she was raised in a farming family, Natalie places a strong emphasis on supporting British industry.
Her fabrics, wool, tweed and silk, are sourced from UK mills, while leather and suede come from a traditional tannery near Louth.
“I very much want to support UK businesses and families,” she says.
The result is a collection that is both luxurious and grounded. Field jackets, blazers and knitwear are designed not as seasonal statements, but as enduring pieces.
“I want pieces that will last forever… something I can pass down to my daughter.”
Practicality is central to this ethos. Many garments feature adaptable elements, detachable collars, interchangeable trims and reversible details, allowing them to be worn in multiple ways.
This philosophy extends to how the clothes are worn too, as Hunt & Hall’s collection is designed to move effortlessly between settings; town and country, day and evening. “I want my pieces to look equally at home in both places,” Natalie says.
Her philosophy is a direct rejection of fast fashion and its emphasis on volume and novelty. “I don’t like doing things that are ‘on trend’ or follow a dictated colour or style that’s ‘in.’ It’s about longevity and using high quality fabrics and yarns from cashmere and tweed to wool.”
Natalie’s focus is on what works for the individual, what enhances confidence and personal style, reflected in her studio near Louth, where customers are invited to experience the brand in person.
Appointments offer guidance, reassurance and advice (if solicited) from someone with professional experience as a fashion stylist for some of the world’s most high-profile fashion magazines. Natalie has even arranged for her preferred hair stylist and makeup artists to provide confidence-boosting experiences so that her customers can make an enjoyable day out of their visit.
“A lot of ladies just get stuck in a style rut… I want you to feel fabulous.” It’s a philosophy shaped by her years as a stylist. Unlike traditional retail environments, where the emphasis is on sales, Natalie prioritises honesty and outcome. “I want you to look good because you’re representing my brand… I want you to get compliments.”
That sense of responsibility extends to the next generation. Her six-year-old daughter Harper has already contributed to the brand through a sub-collection, Harper’s Little Hunt Club, with a portion of proceeds supporting Lincolnshire’s Rural Support Network (LRSN).
For Natalie, being back in Lincolnshire is a wonderful thing, and an important way to keep her brand grounded in values like quality, classic British style, ethics and sustainability. Fashion, she says, is something that can empower women and bring great pleasure, as long as it’s done well. And right now, we don’t think anyone’s doing it better!
Natalie Harper Howell is the founder of her luxury British clothing brand Hunt & Hall, based near Louth. Her studio is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with appointments recommended. For more information on her collection, see www.huntandhall.com.