The only Luella pieces I own are ones from the British designer’s Target collection, Luella for Target. While it has been nearly three years since those pieces hit stores, the quality and design have withstood the handful of seasons (despite their frugal price-points), so it saddened me to hear that Luella Bartley just announced that her Luella label has ceased trading. The line’s global licensee for ready to wear and accessories since 2003, Club 21, has decided not to “invest further in its relationship with Luella Bartley Limited.”
Bartley has had a lot of critical success – she was named the 2008 Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. She had a successful career as a journalist and fashion editor at British Vogue and London’s Evening Standard newspaper before starting her own line in 1999.
In a statement, the designer remarked that this is a “very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand, and that that she very much appreciated the support that Club 21 subsidiary VSQ has given her, “but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate.” Reportedly, the designer has a number of options moving forward and she is “considering these over the coming months.”
