English designer Luella Bartley on ending her “Luella” fashion line:
“‘It’s a difficult thing, being a woman, trying to have a successful business, be creative and do the best by your family. I sold it to myself that I could do it all,’ she told the Times [London]. ‘You can, but not the way my business was set up. It was set up for the old me. Maybe I was moving away from that life without realising it.’
With that in mind, Bartley has since been staying full time in the Cornwall cottage that she shares with boyfriend David Sims and their three children. But despite it being 11 months on, the Luella girl hasn't disappeared she said. ‘My lifestyle changed, but she stayed, which is nice.’
‘To anybody urban and creative, it obviously sounds like a drop-out situation,’ she said. ‘Letting go has been the biggest lesson. I used to think that if someone wasn’t successful, it was because they were crap, but now I realise that if people aren’t successful, it’s probably because they aren’t that bothered…You think that everyone’s going to forget who you are. But I had a chat with Phoebe [Philo, the creative director of Céline], who I admire so much. She took three years out and made sure her kids were secure. Then, when she was ready, she got the deal she wanted. You’ve just got to know what you want. I know I’ve done the right thing. I don’t mourn anything. I loved what it was, but I’m happy to be out.’”
Mdudu, Naomi, Luella Embraces Life After The [Close] Of Her Brand. The Fash Pack. October 12, 2010, from http://thefashpack.onsugar.com/Luella-Embraces-Life-After-Clouse-Her-Brand-11433700
Image from The Fash Pack via Bryan Boy
