Yesterday, the shock news came that luxury fashion brand Luella is to cease trading. The label, set up by designer and former journalist Luella Bartley, has lost its main financial backer, Club 21, which announced it could not afford to “invest in the relationship” any longer.
Some of my colleagues were less interested…..”Luella who?” they asked.
Well, Luella may not be a company the size of last year’s pre-Christmas collapse – Woolworths – but it has a brand that reaches beyond its relatively small corporate size. This is why the failure of her company comes as such a surprise to anyone acquainted with the world of fashion or even popular culture.
Bartley takes her place in history for helping to revive English luxury brand Mulberry. When she designed an accessories collection for Mulberry in 2002, her bags were credited for turning around Mulberry’s fortunes. Suddenly, handbags like the “Gisele” were hanging off the arms of women all over the world.
Remember the sudden wave of florals sweeping the high street over the past couple of years? That was also down to Luella. She mixed florals with black taffetta and lace, making the outfits a little more punk. Luella has been one of the core proponents of the trend in mixing the ultra-feminine with the butch over the past few years. Celebrities from Lily Allen to Gwyneth Paltrow have worn her clothes.
Bartley even won “Designer of the Year” at last year’s British Fashion Awards because of her influenc, which came after multiple nominations.
The collapse of Luella may still not raise too much interest outside fashion circles (or at least with my male colleagues), but it’s a valuable reminder that even brands seen as setting a cultural agenda are at risk in this climate.
