Owner of the UK's smallest lingerie boutique, fashion designer to the stars, and NHS hero

Nine-year-old Jenna Barnes was a creative entrepreneur. Her mother worked as a sewing machinist making carrycots for British Airways and so they always had an industrial sewing machine at their home in Salford when she was growing up. Naturally, this piqued young Jenna's curiosity.
Jenna Barnes, founder and owner of Raine & Bea, with Fleur East (left)Jenna Barnes, founder and owner of Raine & Bea, with Fleur East (left)
Jenna Barnes, founder and owner of Raine & Bea, with Fleur East (left)

"During the six-week holidays, my mum would unthread the machine when she went to work because she didn't want me on it unsupervised," explains Jenna. "But the night before, I’d draw diagrams of how it was threaded and as soon as she’d left, I’d set it all up, cut up her old clothes, and make hair scrunchies which I’d sell at school.

"One day, I found this black dress with rose print made of really nice fabric which I'd never seen my mum wear before," adds Jenna. "So I cut it up. Mum came home and said ‘where’s your auntie Maureen’s dress for that funeral?’ Twenty years later and my auntie's still saying I owe her a dress."

Luckily, Jenna's in just the business.

Jenna BarnesJenna Barnes
Jenna Barnes
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The founder of Clitheroe-based lingerie boutique Raine & Bea, Jenna has done pretty much everything in the fashion industry. From sewing karate suits in the shadow of Strangeways Prison to making hotpants for Victoria Beckham, her career has seen her fit Will Young for a corset, make Fleur East's dress for the Brit Awards, and be offered - and turn down - stage-side tickets for Celine Dion.

Oh, and she made her auntie's wedding dress to make up for everything as well.

"I was shy in high school and never told anyone I wanted to be a fashion designer because I thought I’d be laughed at, but seeing a piece of fabric become a costume or an outfit just made me think ‘I want to do that’," says Jenna, 41. "The first person I told was the careers advisor. He said I should be a vet instead."

Undeterred, Jenna left school at 15 to hone her craft in the mills of Manchester, turning down a chance to go to college because she loved working in the industry so much. She tried her hand at everything, earning the moniker of 'Pocket Queen' on one production line, and her hard work and talent shone through, landing her an interview for a job as a sample machinist for brands such as George at Asda, Next, Jasper Conran, and Shop Direct.

Jenna in her boutiqueJenna in her boutique
Jenna in her boutique
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"In the interview, I actually said ‘even if I don’t get it, can I just come to work for free anyway?’" says Jenna. "But, thankfully, I got it and I was in my element."

Aged 20, Jenna made the first really big splash of her burgeoning career, creating the famous Maria Grachvogel green hot pants worn by Victoria Beckham on the catwalk at London Fashion Week in 2000. "When I found out, it didn’t really bother me; I was more proud of being able to go into Asda or Next and know that, because of me, that skirt or top was there!" says Jenna. "It didn’t really click until a few years later; now I think ‘wow, that’s amazing!’

"I was just too wrapped up in enjoying making things."

And making things she certainly was. As well as her work as a sample machinist, Jenna was making bespoke evening dresses for her female relatives to hit the town in. Realising she loved the work, she went self-employed in 2005 and started her own fashion label called Frockstar which soon caught the attention of Rags To Bitches, a leading boutique in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

Jenna (holding baby Flossie) with her familyJenna (holding baby Flossie) with her family
Jenna (holding baby Flossie) with her family

With her reputation growing, Jenna worked with Rags to Bitches for two years which got her noticed in the world of stage. In 2008, she was invited to help the wardrobe department adjust some costumes for Celine Dion's shows at the Manchester Arena and immediately fell in love with the backstage hustle and bustle.

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“I absolutely loved the buzz," says Jenna, who by now was married to her husband Chris, a musician in the band The Australian Pink Floyd Show. "It was the smell; the fabrics, the sweat, the perfume, the make-up, the hairspray, the adrenaline. They actually offered my husband and I the chance to see Celine Dion from the side of the stage as an anniversary gift, but after hearing her rehearse for days and days, I couldn’t take any more! Looking back, I think ‘why did I say no?!'"

Jenna's stage work was turning heads and, after being asked to create a corset for a series of promo pics for EastEnders star Michelle Ryan, in 2012 she landed a commission to create garments for Cabaret starring Will Young. "There’s a lot of pride in seeing your work on stage, but the deadlines..." says Jenna, who still works on Cabaret to this day and who collaborated with Louise Redknapp on the show in 2017. "I didn’t sleep for four days."

Pride and a lack of sleep weren't the only things Jenna's work on Cabaret brought her: it also gave her inspiration.

Fleur East outside Raine & Bea's Clitheroe store: the smallest lingerie boutique in the UK.Fleur East outside Raine & Bea's Clitheroe store: the smallest lingerie boutique in the UK.
Fleur East outside Raine & Bea's Clitheroe store: the smallest lingerie boutique in the UK.

“Everything was suspender belts and clips and feathers and belts and sequins," says Jenna, who also created pieces for Jim Steinman's Bat Out Of Hell in 2017 and 2018. "There was no underwear out there like that, and I always liked vintage so I just thought that the lingerie industry could use something theatrical and high-end. I went for it and it just snowballed."

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A month after founding Raine & Bea, named after her two eldest daughters' middle names, Jenna was at a trade show in Birmingham in 2013 and had her designs sent to Rihanna’s personal stylist. Taking to the world of lingerie like a duck to water, she then received a call from Dominic James, the ex-MD of Italian lingerie brand La Perla and Fleur East's neighbour.

Asked if she would create outfits for Fleur's summer festival tour, Jenna leapt at the chance and has gone on to make Fleur's dress for the Brit Awards in 2016 and her evening gown for her wedding day. “It’s lovely to work with Fleur and we’ve become really good friends," says Jenna. "She’s been up to the shop in Clitheroe and I've got pictures up in the store window of celebrities who we’ve created for so, while she was trying things on in the back, we could hear people saying ‘oh, look, she’s made for Fleur East!’

"I said 'Fleur, if only they knew you were actually in here trying things on!’" adds Jenna, with Raine & Bea in Clitheroe officially the smallest lingerie boutique in Britain. "It was great to have her visit because she got to meet my family and my husband played Sax on the piano, so she was dancing with my daughter in the living room."

In lockdown - as well as getting the creative juices flowing with some new bridal collections - Jenna was inspired to help the NHS after contracting Covid-19 herself. "It was absolutely horrendous," she says. "So, we've all been helping make scrubs and my younger daughter has been ironing pockets. It was time she took over as Pocket Queen!"

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