Kendall And Kylie’s Favourite Slip Dress Brand Has Grown Up

The award for the most offbeat brand name currently vying for fashion’s attention has to go to Rat & Boa. The intriguing moniker originates from a Stevie Nicks quote – “he and I were as compatible as a rat and a boa constrictor” – in reference to her ex-partner. Something in the musician’s musing about her personal life spoke to Valentina Muntoni and Stephanie Bennett. So, when conceiving their brand identity, they eschewed an amalgamation of both their names, and channelled pure rock’n’roll.

Born in 2013, when the duo found themselves living between Bangkok and Bali, their line of slips and easy dresses that beg for a one-way ticket somewhere fabulous was born quite simply out of “a desire to express ourselves through style,” they tell Vogue. “We didn’t realise there was such a big gap in the market.”

Success came to the pair, who design, style, photograph and model the collections themselves, in 2016 when Kendall Jenner was photographed wearing Rat & Boa leather Soda shorts at Coachella. The launch of the silk leopard-print Valentina dress followed, and, just like Jenner, who came across the brand on Instagram, Elsa Hosk, Kylie Jenner, Adwoa Aboah and Gigi Hadid snapped up the under-the-radar label, creating a buzz on social. 

“That really put us on the map,” they say. But, even as their follower count has grown (now well over 500,000 on Instagram), the duo have never neglected the customer insights that ultimately formed Rat & Boa's foundations. “Social media allows us to interact with our audience on a more personal level,” they note. Through this hand-holding, they have built a “a boutique brand that creates unique pieces from luxe fabrics at an attainable price point bridging the gap between high street and designer”. Although there are a handful of brands who populate this middle ground and have expanded, in part, via their social networks – Kitri, Rixo and De La Vali included – it’s no mean feat to marry quality fabrications with attractive price points.

What sets Rat & Boa apart is the wanderlust lifestyle the label emulates – and it's authentic. “The brand represents our nomadic lifestyle,” they share. “Since starting the brand, we have lived in various countries. We're currently based in Berlin, but our last few collections were shot in Guatemala, Mexico and Cuba.” For the latest Mirage capsule, which drops on December 17, they “knew it had to be Morocco”.

Mirage, they assert, is the culmination of five years as business partners (they first crossed paths at a house party in Manchester in 2008, naturally) and an ode to both their styles as they have grown up together. “While retaining the Rat & Boa stamp and a strong sense of fun, the pieces are more refined and elegant,” they offer. Think slips that can be worn with delicate blouses, minimal jumpsuits and one-pieces that pay tribute to the ’70s.

 Pop-up stores and new faces to model the products are on the agenda, but for now, the duo sign off from a jaunt to Brazil. It’s hard to not buy into this insouciant way of life – but, perhaps, building a business on being breezy has been their biggest success.