Should you buy from Molly-Mae’s fashion line? Maebe not

Hidden info, plastic materials and sky-high prices. Behind the influencer's controversial new "premium" line.

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In light of her recent breakup with Tommy Fury, the UK has felt for former Love Island star Molly-Mae. Whether or not the rumours are true that Fury cheated on her, it’s a tough situation to find yourself as a single mother to a very young child, no matter how luxurious or affluent your life is. Never having been a particular fan of hers - especially after her controversial Diary of a CEO interview where Molly-Mae insisted that, rich or poor, we all have the same 24 hours in a day - even I felt quite touched by her recent vulnerability. 

Then she launched her own fashion line. 

According to Molly-Mae, Maebe is the result of a two-year-long dream to create a fashion label that supposedly bridges the gap between fast fashion and luxury. It could’ve been a clever idea—if it wasn’t a complete fib. Yes, 24-hours-Molly-Mae is back. And she wants your money. 

A convenient lack of information 

From musicians to fashionistas, celebrities love to announce that they’ve had a sell-out moment—and Maebe’s stock sold out entirely within 24 minutes of going live. The controversy, however, stems from the fact that information about the materials used was conveniently unavailable until after the line had sold out. So customers had no idea what level of quality they were buying. 

Of course, the fact that Molly-Mae has such close ties to the fast fashion brand Pretty Little Thing (PLT) should’ve been an indicator that she wasn’t exactly going to be selling The Row. But a fair amount of deliberate deception appears to have occurred to dupe fans into believing the clothing was of a more premium quality.

Molly-Mae when she was Creative Director of Pretty Little Thing

Plastic materials, premium prices

For instance, one Maebe cardigan is described on the website as being made from “a soft wool mix fabric”. When the material information finally went up, the amount of wool used was a laughable 5%. 

Another top, made of 86% polyester (which is plastic for anyone not familiar), retails for £50. A similar top on PLT made from 95% cotton retails for £12. I’m not suggesting PLT is a good or ethical alternative, I’m simply suggesting that Maebe is wildly overpriced for what you’re getting—and anyone who purchased garments before the materials went live should be rightfully pissed. 

As queen of the Clean Girl aesthetic and the Girl Boss mentality, Molly-Mae isn’t exactly known for her inclusivity. So, again, I doubt many were looking to her for ethical pricing. But it’s still quite alarming to see just how much profit she’s making on poor-quality pieces. Maebe’s showstopper garment, “The Ultimate Blazer” retails for a whopping £140. And - you guessed it - it’s made almost entirely out of plastic.   

Testing the loyalty of her fans

I often liken Molly-Mae to a kind of British Taylor Swift. She’s blonde, white, beautiful, aspirational but attainable and has a very loyal fanbase. With this in mind, there are probably plenty of people out there who want to buy Molly-Mae’s clothes simply because she made them. They don’t care what the price is or what the fabrics are—and if they’re happy to break the bank over her clothes, then so be it. 

But for those who were expecting the kind of quality that such a price point indicates, Maebe must have left rather a sour taste in their mouths. It will be interesting to see how the clothing line evolves now that the initial sell-out has passed and customers are now aware of the quality-to-cost ratio. 

Far from being an alternative to fast fashion, Molly-Mae appears to have created a clothing line that will almost certainly push people back into the arms of PLT, Shein, ASOS and Missguided. If the only luxury element of Maebe is the price point—can you really blame them?

In the meantime, I’ll stick to Vinted.   

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