From law school to a social media influencer and entrepreneur, Isabelle Clarke has done a lot for women during her career. After amassing a large following on Instagram, she turned her positivity into a fashion-forward mental health awareness brand, Sunflower Avenue.
Isabelle’s goal through Sunflower Avenue is to empower women by combining mental health awareness, self-care, and fashion.
Creating a Safe Space for Women Online: Starting Sunflowerbbys
Five years ago, Isabelle launched a private Instagram page @sunflowerbbys to share unfiltered conversations about her own mental health and the raw journey behind it. These conversations about the path of personal growth transitioned from a one-way discussion into an interactive, supportive space. Isabelle had unknowingly found a group of women online who also saw the importance of sharing their struggles and wins.
After gaining a larger audience, Isabelle began hosting in-person meetups, furthering the connections her followers had made online. The group held picnics and community events that felt impactful and genuine. She saw the need to create an inclusive and non-judgemental space where women felt seen and understood.
It was during these meetups that Isabelle saw the genuine impact she could have on others’ lives. A fan showed Isabelle a tattoo she had gotten with the Sunflowerbbys handle. These deeply personal conversations have created lasting bonds between Isabelle and others in the group—an inspiring message about the good social media can be used for.
Mental Health Awareness: The Core of Isabelle’s Mission
Since the beginning of her career as an influencer, Isabelle has shared her struggles with depression, anxiety, and health challenges. This transparency resonated with fans, who saw Isabelle as the person she was: a woman who, too, struggled in her personal life.
Isabelle understands how challenging the transition from girlhood to womanhood can be. Her social media has become a place where girls and women around the world can share moments in their journeys, too, without judgment. Having a community is an important part of maintaining one’s mental health, and Isabelle has opened the door for her followers to join.
While having her own brand was a longtime career goal, Isabelle wanted to use Sunflower Avenue for good. Many fashion companies don’t talk about the struggles owners face. Instead, Sunflower Avenue hopes to normalize conversations about mental health. The intersection of fashion, self-care, and mental health awareness isn’t frequently seen but has become deeply inspiring for many of Isabelle’s followers.
Sunflower Avenue’s motto is: “No rain, no flowers.” While it’s important to admire the beauty and life of a flower, acknowledging that its growth came from a stormy moment is beautiful, too.
The Legacy of Sunflower Avenue: Resilience Through Adversity
Creating an online persona and fashion brand has not come without difficulties. Isabelle has shared her experience with burnout, self-comparison, and health issues since the creation of her brand. However, just as her platform has helped her followers, their stories have helped her, too.
It is through these obstacles that Isabelle has found profound personal and professional growth. Sunflower Avenue is grounded in an immense purpose that shapes its followers as much as its followers guide the brand, combining self-care and fashion.
Isabelle Clarke’s bravery within her personal life and external presence on social media shows that self-expression and honesty can create powerful places for women to connect, grow, and thrive online.