Luella Bartley announced this morning that her Luella label was to cease trading. Just 7 weeks after its spring summer 2010 label wowed London Fashion Week, drawing Alexa Chung to its front row, the brand’s global licensee, Club 21, has pulled its investment in the British label. This comes a month after the factory that produced Luella’s ready-to-wear collections closed leaving the brand unable to fulfill its spring 2010 orders. In a statement, Bartley said, “this is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand…I very much appreciate the support that VSQ (the subsidiary of Club 21) has given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate.” Bartley added: “We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months.” Bartley won Designer of the Year at last year’s British Fashion Awards and it was business-as-usual last night as she launched the Christmas windows at Liberty.