At 4ft, five-time [gold Paralympian swimmer Simmonds](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2023/08/26/ellie-simmonds-i-still-treasure-the-guitar-pick-that-taylor/) has spent her life unable to pick a piece of clothing off a rack without the need for reams of alterations. But that has changed this week following the launch of DEWEY, the world’s first label for women under 5ft. Fronted by Simmonds, designed by Chamiah Dewey (who is 5ft 2in) and with Chris Savva (co-founder of Nobody’s Child) as CEO, it has appeared in Selfridges to coincide with the start of London Fashion Week.
It’s a bold statement, as label launches go. But Simmonds, who was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, is intent on “bringing long-overdue representation to fashion… there’s a massive gap in the market for this.” The initial drop has 16 womens’ athleisure pieces and six unisex styles; a menswear range is planned for next year.
Simmonds says that we are living in a “powerful time,” when it comes to conversations around disability and visibility – one that would have been unthinkable while she was growing up in the West Midlands. With size 2-3 feet, her only choice of footwear were children’s styles which “had butterflies or sparkles, or [were] light-up shoes. You don’t want to be wearing those as a teenager.”
This was even more galling given that Simmonds “love[s] fashion; I absolutely love getting dressed up.” She returned from presenting duties in Paris less than 72 hours before we speak; had she not been ill (she is loath to turn her camera on lest I see her “really red” nose and sea of tissues), she would likely be sporting the bright colours and simple silhouettes that have come to characterise her style.
“I loved my outfit for the Baftas, I felt really confident in that,” she says of the white feather-trimmed dress that landed her on the *Telegraph*’s best-dressed list. “I’m turning 30 this year – as you get older, you know what works best for your body, and what you feel comfortable in.”
More recently, though, there have been wobbles. Simmonds was 13 and Team GB’s youngest member when she won two gold medals in Beijing in 2008, picking up another two in London four years later, and a fifth at the Rio Games in 2016 (plus a silver and two bronzes over the course of her career). But since retiring following the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, leaving her nine weekly pool sessions plus three gym visits behind, she has been more prone to self-doubt. “I was an athlete for so long, from the age of 12, when my first World Championships was, until when I retired when I was 26; all I’ve known is pushing my body to its limits, and exercise was my job.” Now, she has come to realise that “my body, unless I push it… it’ll never be what it used to be”.
Without that mandatory rigour built into her routine, the “typical” female self-criticism of how she looks has set in. “[I’m] aware that my body is changing, and sometimes, yes, I feel down about it,” Simmonds says of her off-days. She is “not much of a fan” of her legs now, and is “very, very conscious of my arms at the moment,” she admits.
Even so, she went sleeveless while presenting at the Games this summer. “I thought to myself, if I can wear it and try and put a smile on my face then maybe someone watching at home [will be] thinking: ‘Oh, Ellie’s got her arms on show, maybe I can.’” Her insecurities are often tempered by her desire to encourage those watching. “Sometimes I try and stand tall, and be OK.”
The physical changes are among many to have surfaced since she gave up competing professionally. In 2023, she split with her boyfriend of two years; this latter period of her twenties has centred on learning who she is without the pool. “For so long my identity was swimming,” she muses, voice thick with cold. “You know when you’re a good swimmer because you get the medals, you’ve got that substance, you’ve got that thing to show that actually you’re good at something – and all of a sudden that goes.”
1 comment
**From The Telegraph’s Charlotte Lytton interviewing Ellie Simmonds:**
This year Ellie Simmonds has been relishing every chance to show off her post-pool style, from the Bafta red carpet to *Celebrity Gogglebox*, and the Channel 4 [Paralympics](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/paralympic-sport/2024/09/06/sarah-storey-paralympics-greatest-british-athletes-spoty-gb/) presenting couch. Much of the time – and for much of her 29 years – her clothes have shared the same tailoring secret: her mum, Val.
At 4ft, five-time [gold Paralympian swimmer Simmonds](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2023/08/26/ellie-simmonds-i-still-treasure-the-guitar-pick-that-taylor/) has spent her life unable to pick a piece of clothing off a rack without the need for reams of alterations. But that has changed this week following the launch of DEWEY, the world’s first label for women under 5ft. Fronted by Simmonds, designed by Chamiah Dewey (who is 5ft 2in) and with Chris Savva (co-founder of Nobody’s Child) as CEO, it has appeared in Selfridges to coincide with the start of London Fashion Week.
It’s a bold statement, as label launches go. But Simmonds, who was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, is intent on “bringing long-overdue representation to fashion… there’s a massive gap in the market for this.” The initial drop has 16 womens’ athleisure pieces and six unisex styles; a menswear range is planned for next year.
Simmonds says that we are living in a “powerful time,” when it comes to conversations around disability and visibility – one that would have been unthinkable while she was growing up in the West Midlands. With size 2-3 feet, her only choice of footwear were children’s styles which “had butterflies or sparkles, or [were] light-up shoes. You don’t want to be wearing those as a teenager.”
This was even more galling given that Simmonds “love[s] fashion; I absolutely love getting dressed up.” She returned from presenting duties in Paris less than 72 hours before we speak; had she not been ill (she is loath to turn her camera on lest I see her “really red” nose and sea of tissues), she would likely be sporting the bright colours and simple silhouettes that have come to characterise her style.
“I loved my outfit for the Baftas, I felt really confident in that,” she says of the white feather-trimmed dress that landed her on the *Telegraph*’s best-dressed list. “I’m turning 30 this year – as you get older, you know what works best for your body, and what you feel comfortable in.”
More recently, though, there have been wobbles. Simmonds was 13 and Team GB’s youngest member when she won two gold medals in Beijing in 2008, picking up another two in London four years later, and a fifth at the Rio Games in 2016 (plus a silver and two bronzes over the course of her career). But since retiring following the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, leaving her nine weekly pool sessions plus three gym visits behind, she has been more prone to self-doubt. “I was an athlete for so long, from the age of 12, when my first World Championships was, until when I retired when I was 26; all I’ve known is pushing my body to its limits, and exercise was my job.” Now, she has come to realise that “my body, unless I push it… it’ll never be what it used to be”.
Without that mandatory rigour built into her routine, the “typical” female self-criticism of how she looks has set in. “[I’m] aware that my body is changing, and sometimes, yes, I feel down about it,” Simmonds says of her off-days. She is “not much of a fan” of her legs now, and is “very, very conscious of my arms at the moment,” she admits.
Even so, she went sleeveless while presenting at the Games this summer. “I thought to myself, if I can wear it and try and put a smile on my face then maybe someone watching at home [will be] thinking: ‘Oh, Ellie’s got her arms on show, maybe I can.’” Her insecurities are often tempered by her desire to encourage those watching. “Sometimes I try and stand tall, and be OK.”
The physical changes are among many to have surfaced since she gave up competing professionally. In 2023, she split with her boyfriend of two years; this latter period of her twenties has centred on learning who she is without the pool. “For so long my identity was swimming,” she muses, voice thick with cold. “You know when you’re a good swimmer because you get the medals, you’ve got that substance, you’ve got that thing to show that actually you’re good at something – and all of a sudden that goes.”
**Article Link:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/news/ellie-simmonds-interview-negative-comments-strictly/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/news/ellie-simmonds-interview-negative-comments-strictly/)