Among her portfolio is a striking, unused image of one of her friends in an uncharacteristic Ashley halter-neck red jersey dress. The billowing dresses Ashley produced in the s, once Jane had left the company, are also now enthusiastically collected by vintage connoisseurs. This softer look is typified by the innocent advertising image of a young Kate Moss in a cotton wedding dress. The flotation went ahead and within five years Sir Bernard Ashley, as he had become, had sold on the company to foreign investors.
The fortunes of the brand since then have been varied. Earlier this year, the company issued a profit warning. Like many British firms it has been hit by currency movements in the wake of the Brexit vote. This summer the company took another financial blow following charges made on the sale of its HQ in Singapore, slashing its profits. The couple were on an Italian holiday in when they hatched a plan to make similar scarves at home in Pimlico. The children took up different jobs, such as designing the shops, doing photography for the company, and being part of the fashion design group.
Bernard was the chairman and Laura managed the fabrics. The family became successful, so much so, that they could afford a private plane, yacht and a chateau, town house and villa Contenta in Picardy, Brussels and Bahamas, respectively. The couple invested their time and energy to make their business grow. They used inspiration and their own creativity.
Laura and Bernard printed and designed napkins, headscarves, tea towels and table mats. Laura was the designer and Bernard was in charge of printing. The scarves made by the Ashley family became very popular and started shelving in retail stores and selling via mail order.
Their brand soon became recognized around the globe. Initially, the company was called Ashley Mountney and later it became known as Laura Ashley. In his brief written history of the business, Bernard Ashley recalled that it was in those rural settings that the first of the now-famous Laura Ashley design patterns began to emerge. From place mats and scarfs, Mrs.
Ashley branched out, first to other table linens and aprons, then to dresses and eventually to household articles, including curtains, sheets, wallpaper and even paints. Since the mids, the Laura Ashley family business has known only growth, expanding sales in Europe, Canada, the United States, Singapore and, more recently, Japan.
Group plans published late last year called for 15 additional retail stores in the United States in In recent years, Mrs. Ashley turned over much of the detailed design work to members of a team she put together. Exact details of Mrs. All Sections. About Us.
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