The Interview: TONIC founder Sophie Kinross on why she created a new fashion category – patientwear

Sophie Kinross is an experienced fashion brand builder, having worked with some of the industry's biggest names, from River Island to ME+EM. After experiencing injury and illness, however, she felt motivated to launch a fashion brand with a difference: one that helped wearers to feel cared for and stylish during the challenges of illness and recovery.

TONIC creates apparel and accessories to lend dignity, and a little bit of luxury, to the wearer at the time they need it most: from special grip socks to be worn in hospital to gowns with pockets for drains, and fashionable, yet high functioning, slings.

Launched earlier this year, the brand is available on its own website and is in talks with NHS and private hospitals about distribution partnerships.

Kinross talks to us about what inspired her to launch the brand, the painstaking testing and design process, and why she is so motivated to build further on this new category of patientwear.

Could you please give us some insight into your career before you established TONIC? You have worked for some major brands.

I'm a brand builder and creative strategist. My background spans international retailers starting at Arcadia, then River Island, LK Bennett, ME+EM, and most recently consulting for startups. I love building identities that connect emotionally and commercially, empowering communities, and in the case of TONIC, launching entirely new categories.

Cotton dressing gowns, £150

Did you always have an ambition to set up your own company?

Timing played a big role. I was building brands for others. However, four years ago, I had shoulder surgery during the height of summer – during the Euros, unbearable heat – I was given this suffocating, plastic sling that was itchy, scratchy, and cut into my neck. I genuinely thought: are they trying to make me feel worse?

As I complained wildly, I discovered I wasn't alone. A very dear friend, a fashion director, told me she went home with her breast drains in two Sainsbury's plastic bags over her shoulders. That image stuck with me. We've embedded this story and many more into the DNA of TONIC.

So TONIC wasn't born from ambition - it was born from frustration and a fierce belief that people in recovery deserve better.

This is such an interesting niche, and clearly one that has been largely ignored, was it your personal experience then that drove you to set up the brand?

It was that suffocating plastic sling combined with the conversations that followed. Patient wear is currently mass-produced with a view to keeping unit costs down - it's one-size-fits all and therefore fits no one. These products are known to fail.

Here's the thing: the surgeon's job (and I'm married to one, so I can say this) is to operate and get you home as soon as possible. How and wearing what is not their concern. If you look at the NHS website, they have checklists for each procedure telling you when you can go back to work, when you can have sex, when you can drive again - but they simply say 'wear loose clothing'. This is not good enough. Our mission is to create better.

Then, just as TONIC was ready to launch, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Overnight, I became not only a founder but a patient-sitting in chemotherapy, wearing the very clothes we'd created for others. That full-circle moment gave the mission fierce clarity: this isn't just about design. It's about dignity, empathy, and creating something that genuinely helps people feel human again at a time they need it most.

The reality is we're all living with more chronic disease, we have an ageing population, and as surgery develops, procedures become less invasive, so we have more interventions. The demand for patient wear is growing. And our mission is to help those people.

Sling £130, Cashmere shawl £240

It’s so clear now, why you wanted to embark on this mission, what an inspirational story! So, once you had the idea, how did you go about making the brand a reality?

I'm not a designer, so I teamed up with Creative Director Kelly Townsend, Co-Founder of Paper London and ex-Temperley. Kelly is a sustainability champion whose handwriting is thoughtful design and joyful colour. The idea became a beautiful reality in Kelly's talented hands, and in February 2025, our 'baby' TONIC London was sent out into the world.

From day one, TONIC has been built in conversation with our customers-all of whom have clearly articulated the need for better patient garments. We started by listening. Really listening. We spoke to patients, clinicians, breast care nurses, surgeons, physiotherapists.

Everything we design follows our TONIC Lab process: DESIGN → WEARER TRIALS → COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT → ACTIVATION → PRODUCT DROP. If it works, we make more. If it doesn't, we go back to the Lab. No endless product lines-just focused, purposeful drops designed with patients, clinicians, and caregivers to solve real needs with style and dignity.

We've run comprehensive wearer testing across, over 25 to date. The clinical validation has been incredible - our patient empowerment scores for our hospital grip socks hit 76/100.

Can you explain the key pieces in the brand as it stands?

We in our infancy, however, we are becoming known for a hero pieces: our grip socks are bestsellers - they're 100% cotton unlike most hospital socks that use synthetic materials, our male and female designed arm slings that don't cut into your neck (also CE marked Class 1 medical devices), our noise muffling eye masks for better rest & recovery, and our signature T-shirt hospital gown - a complete reimagining of the traditional gown that gives patients dignity and autonomy.

From the bedside to going home, we're creating garments that support recovery, respect humanity, and spark a smile.

Creative director Kelly Townsend with Sophie Fawcett

Your wear-testing is obviously rigorous; how did you approach the design and functionality of the pieces to ensure they best accommodated the needs of the wearer?

From discreet pockets to weighted hems, soft necklines to easy fastenings, every design choice at TONIC is purposeful. Co-creation is everything. We work directly with patients, clinicians, and caregivers.

Our Creative Director, Kelly, undertakes in-depth research interviews, often 3 - 4 hours long, and regular catch ups to see how the wearer trial has gone and any iterations that are needed.

We sweat the small stuff and obsess over details – because recuperation is hard enough. Innovation is stitched into everything we do. We're product people, but we're also community people.

Where are you having the product manufactured and was it a challenge getting it right?

We manufacture in China, India, and Europe - we go to where the experts in the field are. For example, jersey from Turkey, Class 1 medical devices from China, great leathers in India.

Yes, it has absolutely been a challenge. For example, we sent our slings to a luxury accessory maker and to a medical device specialist. The accessory maker initially thought they were handbags, and the device specialist had no knowledge of working with sustainable fabrics. We all learned together!

This is exactly why we exist. Medical apparel has been treated as an afterthought for too long. We're not making commodity products - we're creating clinical infrastructure. We're setting a new standard for what patient wear can be.

Cotton tracksuit. £220

The fabrics are so beautiful, why was it so important to you to offer such a high level?

Dignity. At TONIC, we believe recovery from illness is hard. It tests the body, strains the spirit, and often strips away dignity, comfort, and autonomy. We exist because we believe people in recovery deserve better.

When you're not feeling yourself, the last thing you need is something scratchy, cheap, or undignified touching your skin. Quality fabrics-like cashmere, 100% cotton, thoughtful materials-communicate something essential: you matter. This isn't just about comfort (though that's crucial), it's about maintaining your sense of self when everything else feels out of control.

We're a patient-led design house. From best-in-class materials to expert technical design, every garment is crafted to meet the unique needs of people in recovery, whether at home, in a hospital, or somewhere in between. Our approach combines thoughtful and functional design, luxurious breathable fabrics, and years of patient and clinician research and lived experience.

People in recovery deserve clothing that cares for them, not just covers them.

Post-op drain bag, £55

How do you see the product line-up developing in the future?

We design by patient pathway rather than by season, as is traditional in luxury goods. Through the TONIC Lab, we're constantly innovating based on what patients and clinicians tell us they need.

We currently have a chemotherapy collection, mastectomy collection, and physiotherapy recovery bundles. In development for launch 2026/27 are a hip operation collection, stoma swimwear, and dementia apparel.

We're expanding our range thoughtfully – more recovery wear for different procedures, more options for home recovery. We're also building our B2B relationships with private hospitals and NHS trusts who want to offer their patients something better.

But we'll never lose focus. We're not trying to be everything to everyone. We're here to pioneer modern medical apparel that transforms recovery.

What has the process of customer acquisition been like? While there is clearly a gap in the market, I imagine you need to approach marketing sensitively.

Absolutely. TONIC is more than just products – we're a community.

We're product people, but also community people. Recovery, we understand, can feel lonely, so we've built a space where patients and supporters can connect, share, and laugh together. Becoming a subscriber to our mailing list enables access to an empathy-first approach to marketing, serving non-medical, comfort-led, and practical tips to support recovery.

We approach our marketing with dignity and care. We feature real patient stories with respect. We educate rather than sell. Through every step of our business, consideration for human healing is at the centre-because we believe recuperation is hard enough.

Our channels include direct-to-consumer through our website, B2B partnerships with healthcare providers, and we're developing bedside shopping concepts for hospitals. Surgical slings, eye masks, and grip socks have become bestsellers because they solve real problems.

Grip socks, £9

When you have gained customers, do you find they come back again?

Yes, our customers come back and purchase for loved ones after experiencing the brand. We're building a brand with longevity and loyalty at its core. The idea is to be a partner with clients as they travel through life and different healthcare journeys.

Like me, you might discover TONIC after a shoulder operation and use a sling, then return to us after a cancer diagnosis and going into chemotherapy. Recovery moments happen to all of us – surgery, injury, illness. Once people discover TONIC, they remember us. They tell their friends, their family members. They buy our products as thoughtful gifts for loved ones going through surgery.

That's when we know we've succeeded: when someone says – as they regularly do – "I couldn’t imagine my recovery without it.”

Can you please tell us more about distribution? You have your website and you mentioned potential partnerships, where else is the brand available?

We sell directly through www.your-tonic.com, which gives us a direct relationship with our community. But we also partner with healthcare providers to offer TONIC at the point of need.

We're currently working with a South London NHS Foundation Trust on custom branded grip socks. We have a pipeline of 21 potential healthcare provider customers and are running live pilots with premium facilities. We're also in conversations with central London private hospitals about including our products in discharge packs.

The goal is to meet patients wherever they are in their journey-whether that's ordering online, finding us at their bedside, or receiving our products as part of their hospital care.

What are your ambitions for the brand over the next year or two?

We're currently raising a seed round to scale thoughtfully. We'll continue to form partnerships with UK healthcare providers, and the next stop is the Middle East.

Our ambitions are threefold:

Expand our healthcare provider partnerships – becoming the standard for patient wear in premium facilities across the UK and internationally

Grow the TONIC Lab – continuing to innovate with patients and clinicians to solve real recovery needs

Build category awareness – we're not just selling products, we're creating a new category: modern medical apparel.

We want to inspire a future where every health journey is elevated with dignity, comfort, and thoughtful design. Where design transforms recovery.

T-shirt gown £65

What has been the most valuable learning for you during the process of starting your own brand?

Creating a new category is the hardest and most rewarding thing you can do. We're not competing in an existing market – we're inventing one. Medical apparel as thoughtful, dignified, functional design simply hasn't existed before. That means you're educating constantly: healthcare providers, investors, even patients who don't know there's an alternative to what they've been given.

Never take no for an answer becomes essential. When you've seen firsthand how one-size-fits-all fails people, when you've heard the stories of drains in Sainsbury's bags and plastic slings in summer heat, you don't stop.

Surround yourself with people who share your values. Building a category requires a team who believes people in recovery are humans who deserve dignity, comfort, and choice.

When everyone shares that mission, the impossible starts feeling achievable.