When someone asked me if I'd 'heard about Luella' yesterday I was initially stumped. The question almost always precedes bad news, and what could possibly be going wrong for Designer of the Year Luella Bartley and her and fashion empire that's currently enjoying huge success among a fiercely loyal army of well-dressed women? It only seems like yesterday that every fashion editor and her intern was fighting her way into the designer's long-awaited sample sale.
But all that is mere nostalgia now that we've heard the Luella label has had to cease trading, and is being called the 'latest fashion casualty of the recession'. The sad news comes as Luella's main investor, VSQ, (which also distributes for Armani) made the decision to cut its backing of the label, simply stating that it can no longer "invest in the relationship". Details of the split will no doubt start to emerge soon, but Bartley has been quick to state that she is considering a number of options to take the label forward. Fingers crossed everybody - this is one designer label that we at the Bag Lady would be devastated to lose.
It seems that feelings are running high elsewhere on web as well, particularly on Twitter where you can now affix a 'save Luella' banner to your avatar. Details on how to do it are here if you want to show your support!
