There are many strings to Frankie Bridge’s bow. The former star of The Saturdays is a mental health advocate, having first talked publicly about her struggles with depression long before it was accepted by the mainstream. “It was my way of trying to break down the stigma,” she says. “I love that people are more open now.”

She is also, of course, a pixie cut trailblazer – the inspiration behind a wave of women adopting her former signature style (more on that later). And, more recently, Bridge has entered the fashion world, too – designing for her eponymous label, F.W.Bridge. Filled with sunny brights, high waists and midi hemlines, Bridge’s latest collection is ripe for holiday wardrobe pickings.

As her freshest F.W.Bridge pieces drop at F&F, Bridge caught up with Stylist about how she’s approached fashion since turning 30, how she navigates getting dressed during mental health lows and why she’s gradually easing herself out of wearing exclusively elasticated trousers…

Like lots of us, you’ve had a real style evolution over the years – but you must see a lot more pictures of your old outfits than most people. How does it feel to look back?

As with all of us, it can sometimes make me cringe but, to be honest, I’d hate to have always looked the same and never tried anything new. With my hair and clothes, I like the fact that I’ve experimented. On the flip side, I’m 100% sure I’ve looked back on stuff and thought: ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe I wore that,’ as we all have. But other people have probably got one Polaroid picture of it, whereas mine’s all over Google.

Speaking of looking back, your pixie cut was a huge part of your style, and you’d regularly be one of the only women with short hair on the red carpet. Would you ever go back to it?

Never say never. When I was in The Saturdays, having really short hair was really easy. The guy who did our hair cut mine every three weeks when it started to grow out. But being a mum, working and not travelling with my hairdresser everywhere now, it just wouldn’t be sustainable. I do see pictures of my pixie cut and sometimes think about how much I loved it, though. It’s kind of what made me me. 

Piecing together outfits can be difficult – and it’s something lots of people have struggled with post-pandemic. Do you have any advice on how to rediscover your style?

I totally relate! I went through a real stage of just wanting to wear leggings and jogging bottoms; I think everyone found it really hard to wear anything that wasn’t elasticated for a while. Back in the day, I was like a real jeans girl, but they were all stretchy then and now all the cool jeans are like pieces of cardboard. Recently, though, I’ve been making an effort to actually wear what’s in my wardrobe and it’s made a big difference. Rather than always buying new stuff, if you force yourself to wear what’s in there (provided it’s comfortable and fits you), you end up realising how many good bits you’ve got.

Has being in your 30s affected the way you approach fashion?

I think it has – we’re constantly told that when you hit 30, you can’t wear particular things because you need to be giving off a certain image. Especially if you’ve had kids, it’s really difficult to kind of find your groove again with fashion. I think the answer is really about redefining what you wear, but you can do that slowly instead of getting rid of your wardrobe and starting again. Sometimes, things that were your easy, go-to, comfortable outfits don’t work anymore, but it’s about making swaps. Nowadays, my failsafe outfit is a pair of black trousers with a vest top and an oversized blazer – I can style it with jewellery, sunglasses and handbags to make it feel different.

You’ve regularly been open about your mental health struggles. During difficult periods, do fashion and beauty play a part in how you feel?

It’s weird because it can either make you feel worse or feel better. It’s a double-edged sword. I can sometimes feel like I really don’t want to put make-up on or think about what I’m wearing, but on the other hand, I know that getting up, putting on an outfit that you’re comfortable in and makes you feel good, putting on make-up or doing your hair can really make you feel better if that’s what you usually do and how you feel best. And I think, sometimes, before you do feel better, you’ve almost got to fake it until you make it.

Do you ever feel like people conflate looking put together with feeling put together? How do you handle that?

100%. But I think that goes for a lot of people, whether it’s a mental health issue or not – we’re all swans who are gliding on top and madly peddling underneath. Sometimes people are having a bad day and they look like they’re having a great day, or their life is a complete mess but they look put together. That’s why it’s important to have people you can be honest with and say: I know that I look all right, but I’m really not. It’s also why we have to be so careful with each other – you never really know what’s going on.

That’s very true, but it can be hard to remember it when we see other people’s lives played out on social media…

Definitely, I struggle with that too, but I try to rationalise it to myself as much as I can. I think, often, the people who have got the lives that look the most perfect to us are the ones that are trying hardest to make you believe that everything’s fine.

Absolutely. Bringing it back to the here and now – what are your summer plans?

Busy! We don’t have any holidays planned yet, but I sat down yesterday and looked at my calendar – I was like, I’ll have time to work, sleep and see my kids and that’s it. I think that’s relatable for lots of people – although I’ll definitely be enjoying the UK sun.

Finally, do you have any advice for anyone who’s planning a holiday wardrobe?

In terms of shopping, I find a linen wrap dress or a lightweight knitted midi skirt both work really well – you can throw them over swimwear or wear them for dinner in the evening. More generally, something to keep in mind when you’re shopping – and I say this as someone who tries on a lot of clothes for work – is to try not to concentrate on the size of clothes you’re buying. At this time of year, it’s so easy to focus on the number, but they really do change wildly between brands. It’s something I’ve had to learn from experience, but I think I’m getting there.

F.W.Bridge is available to shop at selected F&F Tesco stores and online at next.co.uk.

Images: courtesy of F.W.Bridge / F&F