Luella Bartley ceases trading

[DiamondSea]

In a shock announcement made this morning, Luella Bartley has revealed that her Luella fashion label has ceased trading. Club 21, the London-based global licensee has pulled out of the brand, which it has backed since 2003. In a joint statement VSQ Limited, the subsidiary of Club 21, had reluctantly ‘taken the decision not to invest further in its relationship with Luella Bartley Limited.’ Bartley added; “This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand…I very much appreciate the support that VSQ has given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate. We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months.” Bartley won the British Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards last year, and has a large fan base including Alexa Chung and Daisy Lowe, while she is best friends with Katie Grand and Giles Deacon. In a double blow, that signifies how tough the current climate is for designers, Luella's key ready-to-wear producer was also hit by the recession, and the factory closed unexpectedly last month, which has meant that Bartley's Spring 2010 orders will not be fulfilled. Last night we met Luella at Liberty where her and her team have designed the Christmas windows, but ever the professional she gave no inkling that they were making an announcement of this size this morning.

graziadaily.co.uk

 

[ponytrot]

Oh no!

 

[Bird of Paradise]

 

[j'adore_couture]

Lovely show gone to waste...this is really really sudden!

 

[lucy92]

this is really a shock as i think that luella could be the next betsey johnson.

i hope she finds another investor asap.

it would be a real setback if her spring line is cancelled.

 

[Grill]

Luella ceases trading

What a shock! and a sad day for British fashion.

The following is taken from The Guardian online, www.guardian.co.uk

Bartley shocks fashion industry as celebrity favourite Luella ceases trading Emma Sibbles


Luella Bartley 'considers options' for ready-to-wear label as financier pulls plug on acclaimed spring/summer 2010 collection





Tuesday 10 November 2009 17.52 GMT

The spring/summer 2010 collection which is in limbo after designer Luella Bartley's ready-to-wear Luella label ceased trading. Photograph: Mike Marsland/WireImage

Luella Bartley, one of the British fashion industry's biggest success stories, announced today that her Luella fashion label has ceased trading after a key financier pulled out.
Club 21, the company which holds the licence to supply shops with Bartley's preppy, punky ready-to-wear clothes and accessories, withdrew from its partnership with the designer, and said in a statement it had decided "not to invest further". The move follows the unexpected closure last month of the brand's key ready-to-wear manufacturer, Carla Carini.
Named British Designer of the Year in 2008, Bartley regularly receives rave reviews from press and buyers alike for her "English eccentric" style shows. Her latest collection, for spring/summer 2010 and featuring bows, heart-shaped cut-outs and her signature colourful prom dresses, was shown during the 25th anniversary of London fashion week in September to critical acclaim. Unless other backers are found this collection is unlikely to appear in stores.
With an estimated turnover of £9m and celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Lily Allen wearing her designs, Bartley has built a strong identity for her
Luella

brand over the last 10 years."This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand," Bartley said. "I have had an incredible team around me and very much appreciate the support that VSQ [a subsidiary of Club 21] have given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate.
"I love the Luella character and hope that after we have survived this challenging time the Luella girl can have an exciting future ahead of her, whichever incarnation she takes on next. We have a number of options open to us and are considering these over the coming months."
A former fashion journalist for the Evening Standard, Vogue, The Face and Dazed and Confused, and friend to stylist Katie Grand and designer Giles Deacon, Bartley shot to fame with her first collection Daddy, I Want a Pony in 1999, which she presented in Pulp bassist Steve Mackay's flat.
The show created such a buzz within the industry that the following February she made her London fashion week debut with Daddy Who Were The Clash?
Moving first to Milan then New York to increase sales, the designer returned to London in 2007, opening a store in Brook Street and becoming a favourite of buyers and editors on the schedule.

 

[raica]

Oh no! This is terrible!!! She had a distinct point of view that noone else in the industry has. Ohhhh

 

[badlands]

so, sad and i never got to buy from her. (though that doesn't mean i'll never own her pieces).

 

[girlalamode]

Oh my god, this is awful!

 

[sungelly87]

everything at the online store is on sale! Us buying probably won't help much tho.
http://www.luella.com/store/

 

[mikeijames]

this is what happens when one builds a business on one "it bag" and doesn't adjust fast enough with the times. she could've easily translated that fun girly bag into a spunky bag-and-shoe line in league with kate spade or anya hindmarch.

 

[gossiping]

does this mean in the london store on brook st everything is on sale too?!!

sadly most of the bags are sold out online luella.com grrrr

 

[Master Wood]

The general consensus within the press and the industry is that she will have another backer this side of christmas and will be back showing at London Fashion Week in February. Its a lot more hideous than it sounds its more club 21 that is in trouble than Luella, she has a very competent and in demand for product which any stable financial backer will be able to recgonise. It does sadly however look as though the spring/summer collection almost certainly will not be put into production

 

[gossiping]

i felt like that collection was a step backward anyway

 

[DiamondSea]

The horrendous Liz Jones offers her take on the situation.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...a-went-bust--British-fashion-snobby-half.html

 

[temptbomb]

that's horrible. I hope she finds another investor ASAP.

 

[Grill]

Ugh Liz Jones and the hideous Daily (Hate) Mail. Her column bears no weight with either Luella customers or the business of fashion - it's a simple reflection of her bitter nuroses (sp?) and shows how far her star has fallen in the fashion world.

 

[Katie123]

Liz Jones is such a bitter b*tch, i HATE her column

 

[Merveille]

Is there any news on this?
I keep hearing she is in talks with other investors...

 

[Merveille]

Since it is London fashion week and I will suffer the loss of seeing a Luella collection I made a list of things I would like to see and think would greatly help grow the Luella brand when and if she finds new investors.

I always thought her brand was very alienating and missed a lot of profitable opportunities by expanding their customer by appealing to her legions of fans that can't afford the main line and make herself more visible in the US. So, out of boredom and for the sake of conversation I thought up a few things.

My business plan for the Luella brand:

1. Start a diffusion line in Urban Outfitters (she did something like this in UK UO).
- Opens up her presence in the US & gives fans who can't afford the main line a chance to buy into Luella & to expose the brand to others who didn't know her.

2. Start a line of low price accessories (like Marc Jacobs has done).
- Items like stickers, keychains, graphic print tees, iPod cases, wallets, laptop cases, canvas bags, headbands, diaries, compacts etc.

3. Release her book that was planned.
- Another cheap item for fans and to educate others on her brand and brand identity. Could be sold in UO along with the diffusion line.

4. Get her line in stores like Opening Ceremony opening the way to Luella boutiques in LA, NY & Tokyo in the future.

5. Release a fragrance.
- Huge profit for brands and I feel she could do something really fun and clever with her brand identity. This could also lead into doing print advertising for the fragrance and eventually the brand.

I also dream of Loïc Prigent doing a documentary on her like he did with Marc and Chanel. I think his quirky style would depict her personality perfectly and I find Luella herself to be a very different character in the fashion industry. We could see her as a mother and a surfer in Cornwall and a designer in London showing her process of starting a line in Cornwall and eventually showing it in London.