Just when it seemed like things were looking up, the economic crisis took a sneaky shot with perfect aim. This time at the fashion industry. First Christian Lacroix and Yohji Yamamoto were hit by the economic down-slide. Just recently , Versace announced it was pulling out of Japan, and then, the news that has the fashionistas twittering and tweeting, British label, Luella Bartley has ceased trading.
(Image from brand.swarovski.com)
Luella, the label du jour for London’s “it” Girls, has lost their financial backer, Club 21. The Singapore-based company decided it was not going to invest further in the label. Unfortunately for the former British Designer of the Year, that is not the only thing giving her headaches. The Italian production company responsible for her Spring 2010 collection abruptly closed last month. With the closure of Carla Carini, the orders for the new collection consisting of 50’s-inspired dresses and bow-trimmed accessories will not be fulfilled.
Things have changed a lot for Bartley, a former fashion editor at Vogue. She launched her eponymous label in 1999 with the Daddy, I Want A Pony collection. Since then she has gone on to win the Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Council, showed at fashion weeks in London, Milan and New York and has had those shows attended by Anna Wintour.
Other fans of her label include Alexa Chung, Lily Allen, the Geldof sisters, and Sienna Miller. For those not so well-versed in London gossip scene, the fashion house would be best known for the “Gisele Bag”. Created in 2002 as a collaboration with Mulberry, the bag along with Marc Jacob’s Stam, was famous not only for their supermodel namesakes but also as the new generation “It” Bag. The Gisele bag was carried around by Christina Aguilera, Kate Moss and Ms Bundchen herself, and revived the flailing Mulberry brand.
(Image from bagbliss.com)
Despite all of this, the label will remain closed for the time being. Luella, herself, told the press that there were a number of options to consider, but nothing has been set in stone. Until then, the industry and fans of the label are taking to social media to speak out. The Save Luella campaign has been one of the most popular retweets. The Facebook page has been so popular even Alexa Chung weighed in on the discussion board. The UK’s Guardian found the whole thing too depressing and instead wrote a lament to the label.
Whether all of this will make a difference has yet to be seen. Whether Luella’s only the first in the line is more worrying. The thought that more fashion houses could be closing is enough to get the industry quivering.
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