Luella Bartley began her career as a journalist working as an editor at British Vogue. After attending Warwickshire school of arts and later the prestigious Central Saint Martins she began her foray into design launching her label ‘Luella’ in 1999.
Her first collection “Daddy I want a Pony” was presented at Pulp bassist’s Steve Mackay’s apartment, highlighting her interest in the British music scene, which continued to influence her work throughout her fashion design career which ended in 2010.
Luella became known for her quirky, punk inspired and often distinctly English style which was worn by the fashion pack of the day from Kate Moss through to Chloe Sevigny. This also led to successful collaborations with fellow Brit companies Mulberry and Liberty.
A short year after her first collection Bartley was presented with the Britain’s Young Designer of the Year award, the first of many plaudits which included Designer of the Year in 2009 and an MBE in 2010 for her services to British Fashion.
For A/W 2007 Underground collaborated with Luella on our winklepicker model. The feel of the collection was Minimalist Cool. The winklepickers, with their neutral tone (Black, white, cold metallic silver) reflected the mood: carefree, naturally cool with a hint of rebellion.
