When Cassie Holland launched knitwear brand Hades 10 years ago, inspired by her fandom of bands and artists such as The Slits and Patti Smith, she couldn’t have known it would earn a cult following – including some big household names. Her sister Isabel Holland came on board two years later, and they’ve since collaborated with actor Tilda Swinton twice. Their designs have been worn by everyone from Lena Dunham to Paul Mescal.
To mark the brand’s decade milestone, the Hollands have just dropped a “Best of” collection, revisiting archival pieces, as well as debuting their first-ever leather handbag (they’ve released bags made from wool and other materials in the past). The campaign imagery features work by another of the sisters’ influences: Turner Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing, who like them, hails from Birmingham. “We’ve loved her work for years, particularly her masks and sculptures, so working with her felt like a really natural way to celebrate,” Cassie tells Broadsheet. “We always want our collaborations to feel meaningful and unexpected.”
Back in 2016, Cassie’s plans were modest. She kickstarted the label while dissatisfied with the jobs in the creative industry she had been working to afford to live in London. “The malaise propelled me to create something of my own,” she says. “I decided on a small series of band knits, my take on the classic band T-shirt, and called around a number of Scottish manufacturers, as they’re known for producing some of the finest knits in the world.”
Just four designs were rolled out, and she chose the name Hades because of her fascination with the Greek god of the dead. “I was interested in mythology as some of the earliest records of humanity’s attempt to make sense of their own psyches and mysteries,” she says.
It was a leap of faith that paid off. It wasn’t long before the pieces went viral, and London style icon Alexa Chung became one of the brand’s earliest celebrity adopters when she was seen walking the fields of Glastonbury in a blue The Smiths knit.
As the brand’s success grew, Isabel, who had been working in the charity sector, came on board full-time. The sisters would take turns doing the initial sketches for collections, then refine them together in the later stages of the process. “They come from a very personal perspective for each of us,” Cassie says.
The archive of music-themed designs grew to include the names and songs of everyone from Blondie to Joni Mitchell and Joy Division. Greek myths and legends, as well as the work of psychoanalyst Carl Jung, have also served as inspiration for a growing range of pieces, which include skirts, scarves and bags.
Mescal aptly wore the Narcissus screen-printed cardigan on his Gladiator II press tour in 2024. “It was the biggest impact we’ve ever had – we sold out, restocked and then sold out again,” Cassie says.
But the brand’s biggest pinch-me moment was when another legend of near-mythical proportions got in touch with some fan mail. “We first spotted Tilda [Swinton]’s name on an order from the website three years ago, but we weren’t able to confirm it was really her, until a year later when she emailed to connect with us. It was completely shocking that we'd reached her sphere,” Cassie says.
A proud Scot, Swinton was a fan of their homespun approach and enthusiastically agreed to collaborate. Their first capsule in 2024 was inspired by the actor’s filmography and the next, which dropped in May this year, was titled Notes from the Precipice, taking inspiration from Swinton’s 2025 Berlinale speech and poem Notes For Radical Living, from which lines were screen-printed on skirts and tops.
Despite their celebrity fanbase, the sisters still get a major kick out of seeing their designs on “normal” people in the wild. “Seeing clothing from collections years ago being worn and lived in now is a real delight – we want the lifespan of our garments to be long,” Cassie says. The Carrington cardigan design from 2019, with buttons spelling out “FUCK”, has become a signature style. It now comes in a new berry colourway in the “Best of” collection.
The sisters pride themselves on a DIY aesthetic and their work with UK craftspeople. They still work with the same Scottish factory, as well as knitwear producers in Northumberland, jewellers and printers in Birmingham, and seamstresses in Somerset. Their new Despair handbag is made in Walsall, “just 23 miles from the Hades studio in the historic heart of England’s leather industry. It marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, bringing our values to an enduring new staple,” Cassie says.
Of course, Hades has a new band collaboration up its sleeve too. “It launches in late September and is with Fleetwood Mac – you heard it here first!” Cassie says.
