Irregular Choice's one-factory model left the brand with nothing to sell

Irregular Choice was the Brighton-based British footwear brand founded by designer Dan Sullivan in 1999, known for playful, story-driven shoes — unicorn heels, bold prints and heavy embellishment. For 26 years it built a cult following around deliberately impractical, instantly recognisable designs that could not be found anywhere else.

The brand's production was concentrated in a single small, family-run factory that had made its shoes for more than 25 years. That concentration was the load-bearing part of the model: the intricate, detail-heavy designs were extremely difficult to replicate in another workshop, so the factory was effectively irreplaceable.

When Irregular Choice's main distributor was liquidated, the collapse left both the brand and its long-term factory partner owed a substantial sum of money. The factory was itself forced to close, and with it the only production line capable of making Irregular Choice's shoes.

On 11 September 2025 Sullivan announced the brand was closing after 26 years, citing the lingering effects of the pandemic, rising costs and the cost-of-living squeeze on non-essential fashion, alongside the distributor collapse. The flagship store closed on 28 September, a Big Clearout Sale cleared the stock, and the website followed in the coming weeks. Sullivan said he hoped it was not goodbye forever.