About the Founder

Kate Bell

Entrepreneur, designer, and advocate for adaptive, sustainable clothing. Founder of Zip Us In and Alternity Apparel.

Kate Bell, founder of Alternity, holding a Zip Us In Jacket Expander Panel

Awards

Entrepreneur of the Year

Media

Dragons' Den & ITV

Founded

Zip Us In (2015)

Impact

1 Tree per order

The problem solver

Kate Bell built her first brand, Zip Us In, out of necessity. As a new parent, she couldn't find a jacket that fit comfortably over a baby carrier. Rather than accept the status quo, she designed the solution herself — and discovered thousands of other parents facing the same frustration.

What started as a personal project grew into an award-winning business, recognised by Barclays as Entrepreneur of the Year and featured on national television.

The bigger picture

Through years of listening to customers, Kate realised the issue was far broader than babywearing. Bodies change constantly — through pregnancy, recovery, ageing, disability, weight fluctuation and menopause. Yet the fashion industry still designs for a single, static ideal.

Alternity is her answer: a brand that creates clever, sustainable clothing designed to adapt with you for a lifetime — not just a season.

Values that guide the work

  • Body confidence

    Clothing should make you feel good, whatever your shape today.

  • Sustainability

    Buy less, wear longer. We plant a tree for every order.

  • Safety & quality

    Independently certified. Built to last, not to landfill.

  • Transparency

    We tell you how things are made, where they come from, and why they cost what they do.

"I don't believe in compromise — not on quality, not on sustainability, and certainly not on how clothes make you feel."

— Kate Bell, Founder