The struggling fashion house is in crisis because its current collections don’t appeal. It needs to raid its back catalogue to please its admirers – and survive
In the City, shares in Laura Ashley – which is seeking a bailout – are plummeting – but if you head a little further south, to Kent, the brand’s value seems to be at an all-time high. In my favourite vintage clothing shop, Madam Popoff in Margate, there is such demand for Laura Ashley pieces that they can barely keep them on the rails. The 1970s prairie dresses go for up to £250. On eBay, there is a roaring trade in secondhand Laura Ashley. You could go to a wedding in a vintage find and discover that an older guest wore that very outfit to the groom’s christening.
Every woman I know is baffled by the fact that as a brand, Laura Ashley seemed to have served its customers brilliantly 30 or 40 years ago, and yet doesn’t sell anything we want to buy today. Its archive is expertly preserved and maintained, but it’s hard to find any evidence of it within the current collection. A promising collaboration with Urban Outfitters failed to please fans of the old look; the vintage prints were reworked into grungy, crotch skimming midi dresses.
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