Motherhood and Freelance Fashion: The Struggles No One Talks About

Navigating Motherhood and the Freelance Fashion World: The Unseen Struggles

Becoming a mother is life-changing. Beautiful, raw, and often overwhelming — especially when your career doesn’t pause just because your world has turned upside down. As someone working in the fast-paced, image-driven freelance fashion industry, stepping into motherhood came with a whole new set of challenges I hadn’t anticipated.

The Pressure to “Bounce Back” — Personally and Professionally

There’s an unspoken expectation in the fashion world to always look “put together,” to show up on set with energy, style, and an effortless cool. But when you’re living on broken sleep, wearing milk-stained shirts, and juggling the emotional highs and lows of new motherhood, the pressure to bounce back physically and professionally can feel crushing.

Behind the curated social feeds and styled campaigns is a woman trying to remember who she was before 3am feeds and nap schedules.

Freelance Doesn’t Come With Maternity Leave

Unlike traditional jobs, freelancing doesn’t come with paid maternity leave, job security, or structured return-to-work plans. The fear of losing clients, missing opportunities, or becoming irrelevant can start creeping in long before the baby even arrives.

Many of us end up replying to emails with one hand while feeding a newborn with the other, terrified that if we stop for too long, our careers will move on without us.

Identity Shift and Creative Block

As a stylist, your creative energy is everything — it’s your fuel. But when your identity is shifting from “independent woman, career-first” to “mum, nurturer, caregiver,” it can take time to find your voice again creatively.

The things that once inspired you — runway shows, editorial shoots, trend forecasts — might now feel distant or even irrelevant for a while. That doesn’t mean you’ve lost your touch. It just means you’re in transition. You’re growing.

Time Guilt: The Constant Push and Pull

The juggle is real. Every moment spent working comes with a side of mum guilt. And every moment spent parenting can feel like you're falling behind in your business. It’s a relentless tug-of-war — especially in a freelance career that demands availability, visibility, and hustle.

Learning to set boundaries, ask for help, and say “no” to work that doesn’t serve this new season of life is an ongoing journey. It’s not easy, but it’s essential.

But There’s Power in Becoming Both

Despite the chaos, there’s a quiet power in becoming a mother and continuing your work in fashion. You become more focused. You work smarter. Your time is more precious, so your boundaries get clearer. You start to choose passion over pressure.

And most of all — you become a role model. For your child, for other women, for creatives who want to know that it ispossible to build a career and a family — even if it’s messy, non-linear, and entirely imperfect.

To the Mums in Fashion: I See You

To every mum juggling Zoom calls with bottle feeds, styling shoots while soothing teething cries, and trying to feel like yourself again — I see you. It’s not easy, but it’s real. And it’s powerful.

Let’s continue sharing our stories. Let’s redefine what success looks like in this industry. And most importantly, let’s give ourselves grace — for the mother, the creative, the freelancer, and the fierce woman we’re still becoming.