I’m Cathy Neale, a fashion designer from Liverpool, and Rebel Reign is my label. It’s the name behind my runway collections, but it’s all me: every design, every stitch, every fitting. Here’s how I got here.
Where Rebel Reign began
Rebel Reign started at university. My dad passed away in early 2020, and two days later I was given my next assignment: an entry for the Redress Design Award, a global competition for sustainable, upcycled fashion design. I made a coat dress from his jeans and called it Wear Your Memories.
That piece started my love affair with upcycling. Giving clothes a second life, and keeping the stories they carry, has been at the heart of my work ever since.
Self-taught, mostly
I hold a BA in Fashion and Textiles, but most of what I know I’ve taught myself. My course was underfunded, and lockdown made that worse, so I filled the gaps on my own. If I come across a technique, I can usually work out how it’s done, and then I do it my own way and put my own spin on it. I get that from my dad.
How my brain works
I’m neurodivergent, and it shapes how I create: the way I focus, the way I notice detail, the way I build. It’s part of the work, not separate from it.
Gothic-punk, elegant, upcycled
My work is gothic-punk at its core and elegant in its finish, with upcycling running through most of it. I spend most of my time on moulded and experimental corsetry, statement jackets, occasion wear and 3D-printed pieces.
Made for every body
Rebel Reign is inclusive by design: for all genders and all body types. I work on mannequins, but I also cast and shape pieces on real bodies, so the fit works on the people who’ll actually wear them, because everyone deserves clothes that are made for them.
Creative Connections
After university I organised one photoshoot, and it grew into Creative Connections, a community that gives photographers, models, make-up artists, designers and students the opportunities I spent years waiting for. No budget, no gatekeepers. I especially love working with students: giving them real shoots and real experience early on is exactly what I wish I’d had.
Rebel Reign or Cathy Neale?
Rebel Reign is my label, but over the years so many people have told me they know and recognise me as me, Cathy Neale, more than the brand name. That’s why I showed at London Fashion Week under my own name. Rebel Reign is still very much part of who I am and what I make; it’s just that people buy into the person behind the work.
From Liverpool to London Fashion Week
My first show in London was with LDN Bikers Runway, which led to House of iKons inviting me to show at London Fashion Week. In September 2026 I took my collection, The Rebel Equinox: Cult of the Bloom, to the runway. Read about the show.
What’s next
My goal is to show at fashion weeks internationally. Right now I’m making a winter collection for my online shop, taking commissions, and starting to share what I’ve learned with other designers. Thanks for being here.
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