Leuchie Leaders Club – Fraser Smeaton
14 November 2025
This week at the W Hotel in Edinburgh, we welcomed Fraser Smeaton, co-founder and CEO of MorphCostumes, for a fascinating conversation with Frank O’Donnell Senior Partner at Charlotte Street Partners. MorphCostumes is a UK costume company famous for its original Morphsuits and its bold, innovative approach to fancy dress.
Fraser shared how he and his co-founders had promising careers — Fraser was head of marketing at BT Broadband, and his other co-founders, Gregor and Ali, were working at Procter & Gamble & Barclays — but they chose to take a chance on an idea that became an international success.
Key themes from the evening included:
- Staying positive through change — from shifting customer demand due to the pandemic and tough decisions like redundancies.
- The power of having three founders: a constant source of support, ideas and resilience.
- The importance of values in hiring — Fraser still personally meets every new team member to ensure cultural fit.
- Navigating challenges such as US tariffs and changing global markets.
- Embracing AI to innovate — from improving search results to generating product imagery without the need for photoshoots.
- And yes, even a story about their weirdest creation: the naked man costume!
Thank you to Fraser and Frank for an evening filled with honesty, humour, and inspiration — and to everyone who joined us for another memorable Leuchie Leaders Club event.