karen millen
the karen millen coat is one of the best selling items in the karen millen repertoire. made of the finest coat supra low tops the karen millen coat is stylish and comfortable at the same time making the woman who wears it feel very special. karen millen coat can also be custom tailored for you. karen millen usa has a fantastic sale of karen millen coats 2011 season. recently the karen millen sale drew a lot of celebrity women to shop for karen millen coats 2011 autumn collection .
millen, who reinvested considerable sums in baugur which she lost when it collapsed, is suing karen millen fashions and mosaic fashions us which opened a karen millen store in new york in 2014 .
the karen millen retail business remains safe, as millen had sold her share in it for £35 million in 2004 .
world - famous fashion designer, karen millen obe, has been declared bankrupt .
karen millen has appointed tesco chief customer officer robin terrell as non - executive director .
ed with customer service. my husband bought me a karen millen handbag for christmas .
bonmarché chief executive beth butterwick is stepping down to join karen millen in the same role .
' i' m deeply devastated': fashion icon karen millen tells of ...
read more: karen millen poaches tracey stainer from l. k bennett to lead design teams
pentland brands has signed a deal to be the new global footwear licence partner for karen millen .
ms millen is embroiled in a row with the bank’s administrators, who now own her former business and all rights in the name ‘karen millen’ .
butterwick will lead a strategy to reshape karen millen globally by increasing its focus on digital. change change
the icelandic banks had helped fund the investment group baugur, which owned major stakes in karen millen .
millen says the demise of baugur and the restructuring of karen millen holdings mean the agreement not to use her own name in business can now be challenged .
fashion brand karen millen has appointed agency nys corporate to manage its conferences, events and travel across europe .
throughout the eighties, the business expanded with more and more karen millen stores opening across britain’s high streets .
she said kaupthing‘s administrators, which now own the karen millen brand, had prevented her from starting again .
however, her personal bankruptcy does not affect the karen millen business, which she has no involvement with .
she wanted to use the trade marks' karen millen', and' karen' for a new homewares and lifestyle business, focused on the us and china .
in 2004, millen sold her share in the karen millen retail business to aurora fashions, which was then taken over by aurora' s parent company kaupthing .
a karen millen shop in london. the chain has thrived despite ownership upheaval. photograph: david sillitoe / guardian
karen millen let us into its knightsbridge pop - up atelier to follow a trench coat from sketch to store .
a london branch of karen millen in 2000, at the brand’s zenith. photograph: david sillitoe for the observer
the karen millen label made good progress in the 1990s when they opened stores and boutiques in america and europe. karen millen usa is still growing at a fast pace much to the chagrin of the competitors. although karen millen or kevin stanford, no longer own the company, the innovative outlook and an eye for detail is still meticulously maintained .
by the time of the icelandic crash, ms millen and mr stanford had sold the majority of their shares in karen millen, with baugur becoming one of the main investors .
karen millen has been without a ceo since mike shearwood left in september after the firm scrapped plans for a management buyout .
ms millen said she was a victim of fraud by collapsed icelandic bank kaupthing, who own karen millen. the bank prevented the designer from using her name to launch a new brand
what millen does next remains to be seen. her bankruptcy will limit her business activities for two years. nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the karen millen story will stop here .
karen millen was founded in 1981 by kevin stanford and karen millen. with a loan of just £100 they began manufacturing and selling white shirts to their friends. a party plan network followed, and in 1983 they opened their first store in kent .
millen said kaupthing’s administrators, which now own the karen millen brand, had also prevented her from starting again, after she wanted to launch a range of products under her own name .
aurora fashions ireland, which also manages karen millen locally, has 27 free - standing stores and 34 concessions across the republic .
karen millen, founder of the eponymous womenswear chain, has been declared bankrupt by the high court over an unpaid tax bill .
the karen millen jacket is very special for its exquisite design, contemporary supra mens shoes and embellishments and excellent workmanship. in fact you can even have a karen millen jacket that is custom tailored to perfection. although in keeping with the current trends and fashion, the karen millen jacket never gets outdated or looks old - fashioned. the fresh modern look is somehow maintained even after years .
the international expansion of karen millen is set to step up a gear today, with the launch of a new york flagship store .
mr shearwood was chief executive of aurora until karen millen was spun off in 2012, but he was still serving as a director .
with the high street teeming with great stores offering quality, on - trend items, karen millen’s new approach is a welcome one .
however, at the time she was also fighting a legal battle with icelandic bank kaupthing over the use of the karen millen name .
the karen miller label has woman as the central theme around which all products revolve. the karen millen coat and jacket is worn by celebrities and high society women in uk, usa and many european countries. karen millen eveningwear is a fabulous union of contemporary styling, fastidious tailoring, fine embellishments such as laces, trimmings, embroidery etc .
he battle for the karen millen name is hotting up. millen the woman says she is embarrassed by the brand. but the chain she relinquished control of in 2004 has threatened legal action if she returns to business, as planned, under the brand name karen or km .
karen millen, the fashion designer who for 20 years helped to define what women wore to work, has been declared bankrupt over unpaid tax .
fashion designer karen millen is heading for a high court battle with the company she founded to try to recover the right to use her name .
fashion designer karen millen has said she is' deeply devastated' as she faces losing her luxury mansion after she was declared bankrupt over unpaid tax .
the karen millen brand, seen on celebrities including nicole scherzinger and spice girl emma bunton, still has kent outlets in canterbury, bluewater and bromley .
karen millen, founder of the eponymous fashion chain, has lost a high court battle for the right to use her name for homewares and lifestyle ventures .
she wanted to use the trade marks' karen millen', and' karen' for a new homewares and lifestyle business, focused on the us and china. the designer made £35million when she sold her share of her business in 2004
designed with uncompromising attention to detail, karen millen glasses feature bold use of colour, alongside distinctive design details, creating styles to flatter many different face shapes .
it came after the administrators to kaupthing, which now own karen millen the brand, had prevented the designer from using her name to launch a new brand .
following the collapse of baugur during the financial crisis of 2009 and the subsequent restructuring of karen millen holdings, which had been controlled by administrators to the failed icelandic kaupthing bank, millen decided to challenge the agreement, according to the times .
clients include many of the high street brands such as coast, karen millen, topshop and river island. an exciting opportunity has arisen for a production ...
within hours of being declared bankrupt at the high court this week, the british fashion designer karen millen was talking of her devastation — and blaming everyone but herself .
karen put her heart and soul into her collections, without ever having a catwalk show .
millen also lost money in the 2008 financial crisis after other icelandic investments failed .
ms millen opened her first store in maidstone in 1983 under the name cue .
millen claimed that she had lost significant sums as a result of the baugur collapse and said she wanted to use the karen millen name in a different sector from the chain’s heartland of fashion, but judges ruled it would cause confusion between the two brands .
we' re currently recruiting candidates to work across our karen millen, ellesse and kickers brands. building a family of brands, for the world to love, ...
but last week karen millen, the woman, became famous all over again for the wrong reasons, after suffering the humiliation of being declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill .
karen millen set up her business with her partner kevin stanford in 1981, taking out a £100 loan which they used to manufacture cotton shirts and sell them to their friends .
their first shop opened in maidstone in 1983, selling catwalk - type clothes designed by karen .
karen millen has already been split off from the group and mr shearwood’s exit from aurora could allow him to launch a management buy - out of the women’s clothing brand, pictured .
in the karen millen store in dubai marina mall. i had chosen a dress for my 16 yr old daughter but once she got it home she decided it wasn’t what she wa
at its height, karen millen was one of the most recognised names on the high street and a byword for style and quality. it was the product of a powerful partnership .
by the time the pair came to sell their business to icelandic investors in 2004, there were 130 karen millen stores in cities as far - flung as beirut and los angeles .
before the icelandic bank collapse, ms millen and her business partner - former husband kevin stanford - were flying high in the fashion industry, with interests in oasis, whistles, all saints, house of fraser, ghost and principles, as well as karen millen .
and miss millen also lost money in the financial crisis after other icelandic investments failed .
in march 2011 it was announced that karen millen would be established as an independent company, with derek lovelock as executive chairman, working with joint managing directors gemma metheringham and steve price .
gradually and carefully, they expanded during the eighties. soon, karen millen stores were opening all over the high street. there was no great secret to the popularity of the clothes .
karen millen is used to seeing her name in lights. with 400 outlets spread across 65 countries, there is even a store that bears the kent - born designer’s name in mongolia .
karen millen opened her first self - titled store in maidstone’s royal star arcade in 1983 and watched the business flourish into a multi - million - pound brand with branches across the world .
judge david cooke said in the court documents: ‘the terms of the agreement included a number of restrictive covenants and other obligations on the part of ms millen and mr stanford intended to protect the business karen millen holdings and its subsidiaries and the intellectual property rights that they owned .
karen says they had no great ambitions at the outset, but the business evolved and kept growing .
mike shearwood, the karen millen boss, has stepped down from the board of aurora fashions, pushing the high street clothing group closer to a break - up and sale of its brands .
style icon: at its height karen millen was one of the most recognised names on the uk high street. but the fashion retail entrepreneur has told how selling her business left her feeling low
karen millen’s london and new york stores are just the beginning. with 40 new ones planned worldwide, including its first shops in canada and india, the company has a busy year ahead .
, managing director of karen millen, said: “as a fast growing international brand with a strong british heritage, these are two really important appointments for us. we look forward to becky and
speaking to this paper five years ago, millen said the decision to part was hers .
but while stanford remarried and had more children, millen’s love life has been less straightforward .
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without the involvement of the founders the karen millen stores have kept on going, although the chain is having something of a midlife crisis as millennials opt for a casual look even on nights out .
karen millen would like to keep you updated about our new arrivals, exclusive previews and promotions. if you are happy for us to do this, please enter your email address and click sign up .
mosaic continued trading throughout, though it changed its name to aurora fashions after the pre - pack. somewhat remarkably, considering the upheaval, the company did well, with karen millen a star performer .
millen and stanford have pursued several legal claims against the estate of kaupthing in an attempt to recover the tens of millions they – and many other investors – lost in iceland’s financial meltdown. the designer says the last nine years have been “one long legal battle” that has left her exhausted and ready to “finally put the past behind me”. it seems millen is finally letting go of karen millen .
hmrc successfully challenged the firm in 2010, and issued millen with the tax bill in september .
i am a loyal customer of karen millen i have bought many beautiful dresses that have worn so well. i have recently purchased 2 jumpsuits to be delivered to the trafford centre store 2 weeks ago and th
a beacon for style - conscious women since its launch in 1981, karen millen has seen many a style overhaul. one thing remains is the label’s dedication to sensuality and sophistication. discover the collection here .
one industry expert told the mail this week that ms millen had been ‘foolish’ for entering the scheme .
as a result, they issued millen with a notice to pay about £6million in september last year .
millen, who was awarded an obe in 2008, claims to have been a victim of fraud .
karen millen was declared bankrupt at the high court this week. her blend of smart tailoring and wearable evening wear at high - street prices led to a rapid expansion of her business, with 130 outlets around the world
life was tough when karen was growing up because her father’s illness made work difficult and there was never enough money .
it has been suggested that millen may come back with another proposal to use the “karen” name only, as the court felt less strongly that that would cause issues. it is not known if she will take this option .
karen millen glasses are just £125, including standard single - vision lenses, and you can get a second pair free in our great 2 for 1 designer glasses offer. you can even make designer sunglasses your second pair .
ms millen also claims to have lost significant sums in the 2008 financial crisis after other icelandic investments failed .
hmrc disputed the scheme in 2010 and issued millen with a notice to pay £6m in september last year .
as for fashion, she does wear some of her own label clothes but admits to dressing quite differently from the typical karen millen style, which is quite structured - and she is a huge fan of the british high street .
“the consumer has moved on, ” says lorna hall, retail analyst at trend forecaster wgsn. “fashion trends have become more casual and that has sidelined brands like karen millen that had a vernacular focused on getting dressed up. ”
greed that bankrupted the fashion queen of the high street: she built a £35m empire on a £100 loan - but now karen millen' s gone bust after a £6m tax dodge. so what did happen to her millions ?
karen millen, who grew up on a council estate in kent before founding the hugely successful business that bore her name, said she was “deeply devastated” after she was unable to pay a £6 million demand for unpaid tax from hmrc .
but millen says she has been unable to pay the tax bill because of battles with collapsed icelandic bank kaupthing .
the retail business will not be affected by the bankruptcy as millen no longer has any involvement in the store .
karen millen is entirely design led, and designs all of the ranges in - house. the design team inspires, guides and informs the business on upcoming trends. they are responsible for developing new shapes and key pieces for the season .
the fashion brand has named becky bateman as retail director for the uk & ireland and she will be responsible for leading the “karen millen proposition in the home markets”, through customer service and by delivering “ultimate brand experience” in its uk stores .
karen millen with her partner kevin stanford founded the justin bieber supra shoes in england which is now 20 years old. with only? 100, that was borrowed, the two partners began manufacturing and selling white shirts to their friends from the white cotton material they bought with the borrowed money. their network of friends created a strong client base so that they could progress fast and the first karen millen store opened in kent in the year 1983 followed quickly by stores all over england .
karen millen had been part of the aurora fashions group, which also owns warehouse and oasis, but was spun out on its own in 2012 as it was anticipated it would end up being bought in an mbo by former ceo mike shearwood .
karen millen is just a brand of clothing and does not reflect me as a person in any way… sometimes i find it a little difficult as i have no control over what they design and at times it can be a little embarrassing .
ms millen at her £3million home in kent in 2001. the 55 - year - old now faces losing the property
gemma metheringham, the current managing director of karen millen, says she is
genuinely puzzled
by millen' s comments .
even before she sold the business, i honestly think she was falling out of love with it. of course the collection has grown and evolved significantly, so it is quite likely that it doesn' t reflect her taste now .
to steer it down a more fashion - conscious route, karen millen hired photographer david bailey to shoot its latest campaign. katy england, famed for her work with the late alexander mcqueen and partnership with kate moss on her topshop collection, was on styling duty .
ironically, however, her biggest heartbreak appears to have been the sale of her company. describing the day she signed away karen millen in july 2004, she told the mail in 2011 she became ‘an emotional wreck’ and felt as if she had ‘betrayed’ her staff .
her mother, sheila, a retired secretary, is 73 and, says karen with a knowing smile, is living with a much younger man .
this is one of the key areas metheringham is keen to highlight. a large production run for a karen millen piece might be 4, 000, which, when spread around its 400 international stores, leads to the type of exclusivity you can’t get elsewhere on the high street .
according the times miss millen said that in 2001 her accountants told her to enter a tax avoidance scheme known as round the world .
“obviously i am deeply devastated by this outcome, ” said millen. “all of my energy has been eaten up by such negativity .
they were high quality, beautifully cut and benefited from scrupulous attention to detail. karen and kevin controlled the whole process from design to manufacture to sale .
aurora was forced to seek the appointment of an examiner for the irish arms of coast, warehouse and karen millen in late 2014. the last was spun out in a management buyout from aurora in march 2011. it is owned by the icelandic bank kaupthing, which also ultimately owns aurora .
nys corporate will provide a single - source solution for karen millen’s events and travel for its retail and head office staff across the uk and europe. the agency will manage venue finding and event management support as well as all online and offline rail, air, hotel and ancillary travel bookings .
millen sold her business – and the right to use her own name – in 2004 for £95m. photograph: ian gavan / getty images
ms millen reportedly also had a holiday home in majorca and an apartment in london although it is unclear whether she still owes those properties .
however, hmrc successfully challenged the scheme in 2010, and issued miss millen with a notice to pay about £6million in september last year .
miss millen, a former student at medway college of art, now uca university for the creative arts, began her career making shirts .
previously, karen millen’s collections seemed to exist in a vacuum far removed from exciting things elsewhere on the high street. with the success of brands such as zara, now one of the world’s largest retailers, and more recently cos and & other stories, the retailer had to rethink its offerings .
at the moment we are just bringing teenagers together and taking them out to things like concerts at the o2, football and rugby ,
explains karen .
but that deal represented a low point for karen, by then separated from the father of her three children. she felt ‘lonely’, ‘rudderless’ and quietly desperate .
briggs, who also preyed on lonely single women with money, wooed karen after she booked into a hotel he was running, and they were soon dating .
karen may protest that her ambitions for the new business are relatively modest, but women who love quality clothes will be hoping the lady doth protest too much .
ironically, just when it seemed that life couldn’t get any better, it began to fall apart and millen and stanford separated after 20 years .
the daughter of carpet - fitter anthony millen and his secretary wife sheila, millen was one of four children raised in a modest three - bedroom council house on an estate in maidstone, kent, not far from the georgian house which, until it is sold, is her present home .
there are still karen millen stores on the high street but she has mixed feelings about them. ‘they are very over - branded, ’ she says. ‘the clothes are strong and don’t need logos on every button or zipper. they are also sometimes over - styled, with too much trimming and detail. ’
millen sold her business to the icelandic group baugur for £95m in 2004 and with it signed away the rights to use her name on future businesses .
the truth is, of course, that her brilliant designs were key to its success. but sadly, while building their retail empire, karen and kevin drifted apart .
however much of a let - down karen’s recent romantic adventures might have been, the disappointment pales into insignificance alongside the emotional turmoil wrought by the sale of her business .
‘it was early on a friday morning in july 2004 when i met kevin in the foyer of a hotel in birmingham to meet with the lawyers, ’ karen says .
she adds :
i see every single sketch that goes through the studio. i think it' s really important that somebody holds the brand together. i am a sort of unlikely stepmother for karen millen .
as is so often the case, mother and stepmother seem set to clash over who rules the roost .
“the past nine years have been one long legal battle against the banks to try to achieve justice and have now taken their toll, ” millen said .
karen’s own romantic journey has been less predictable. panic and desperation drove her into the arms of a notorious conman called graham briggs, whom she met travelling through france in 2003 .
as the global economy shifts, china is no longer just a manufacturing base for karen millen. the chain is opening stores in beijing and shanghai this year and has plans for 65 outlets there over the next five years. it is part of a major push that has seen it open shops in markets as unlikely as kazakhstan and azerbaijan .
karen is also giving a great deal of hope through hopehiv, based at the gateway school of fashion in south africa, which aims to give fashion skills to young people affected by hiv. what' s wonderful for karen is that teachers from the university for the creative arts in rochester, where she studied, have been pivotal in getting it off the ground .
ironically, that home - made dress got karen back into sewing again and made her realise how much she' d missed fashion. even more exciting is news that the retail queen who, in 2004 sold karen millen, the label she' d set up with her ex, kevin stanford nearly 30 years ago, is working on a new label with some of her former colleagues .
i feel like now i' ve gone back a full circle. i' m very much hands on again ,
she laughs .
karen was 19 and fresh out of a city & guilds fashion course at kent’s _ medway college of design, while kevin, then 20, was unhappily studying mechanical engineering at university .
miss millen, who opened her first shop almost 35 years ago, failed to pay £6million to hm revenue and customs over her involvement in a tax avoidance scheme .
but miss millen said her battles with kaupthing had left her unable to pay the bill - putting her home, any second properties, cars and valuables at risk .
millen, who created the high street brand 35 years ago, claimed she had been the victim of fraud by the collapsed icelandic bank kaupthing, the times reported .
a self - confessed home girl, karen was born in maidstone, where her very first shop opened in 1983 in pudding lane under the name cue, and now lives in nearby wateringbury .
set in five acres and with stunning views across hop fields, it was the dream home she had always wanted. but behind the facade, karen was miserable. the romance had died .
and there is a real emphasis on quality, something karen millen has always done well. one of the new collection’s cut - work dresses involved more than three hours of cutting by hand. then, there’s a limited - edition striped jacket that costs £499 – only 357 have been made. each one was hand - painted, individually printed and panel cut .
“i never wear the clothes, ” millen said in a 2012 interview as she started a legal campaign to win back the right to use her name on new designs .
millen said she was the victim of fraud by kaupthing, an icelandic bank that collapsed in 2008, which financed the buyer of her business in 2004 for £95 million .
ms millen, who was appointed obe in 2008, failed to pay a demand from revenue & customs of about £6 million arising from her involvement in a tax avoidance scheme .
aren millen, the high end fashion designer who was declared bankrupt on tuesday, has joined a very long list of celebrities who have run aground due to unaffordable tax liabilities .
karen met kevin stanford, the man who would become her romantic and business partner, when they were both on holiday in morocco in 1980. it was, she says, ‘love at first sight’ .
many women might regard this as a typically male response to a break - up and roll their eyes. however, karen is still close to her ex - partner, whom she describes as ‘family’ .
millen considered an apprenticeship as a painter - decorator to help the family finances, but a school visit to a college fashion show ignited a passion for design when she was 16 .
he was later accused of conning wealthy british expats out of nearly £2 million. millen has always vigorously denied briggs’ boast that she had given him £1 million after he seduced her .
millen, 55, who founded the high street chain more than 35 years ago, failed to pay £6million to hm revenue and customs following her involvement in a tax avoidance scheme .
now, however, karen, 50, is ready for the next phase. she is plotting her return to the fashion industry. as they say in creative circles, she has got her mojo back .
the win comes after a competitive tender process that took place between june and september 2015. when asked why they ultimately chose nys, karen millen’s retail operations manager for uk and europe said :
we chose nys corporate because it provided a global solution for our business. both store and head office staff can book travel easily from the portal and we have greater visibility of reporting and expenditure .
millen wanted to use her name on homeware products in china and the us. however, last august a high court judge ruled that this would breach the terms of the original agreement .
one such win was karen millen, for whom nys are now providing a single - source solution spanning retail and head office staff across the uk and europe. the solution includes managing all online and offline rail, air, hotel and ancillary travel bookings, as well as venue finding and event management support. the highly competitive tendering process for this sizable account took place between june and september 2015 .
ms millen, 55, was declared bankrupt at the high court on tuesday. she faces losing her £3 million home in kent as well as any secondary properties, cars and other valuables .
karen is also involved in doing up a house she has bought in majorca - the family' s favourite holiday destination - and renovating her apartment in london, despite confessing she has very little confidence in her abilities .
ms millen said she was' deeply devastated', and insisted she had been a victim of fraud by collapsed icelandic bank kaupthing which financed the buyer who bought her business in 2004 for £95million .
three years later, they opened their first shop in maidstone, selling catwalk - style clothes designed and made by millen on her kitchen table. a second shop soon followed in nearby tunbridge wells .
but all this wasn' t enough for karen, who wanted to give something back to society .
getting involved in charity was an obvious thing to do, i could meet new people and do good things as well ,
says karen, who has worked with her close friend, debbie pezzani, to set up teens unite fighting cancer, dedicated to improving the lives of young people aged between 13 and 24 with life - limiting illnesses .
they lived in a breathtakingly beautiful georgian mansion in the kent countryside. the house, in which karen still lives, has a swimming pool, seven - a - side football pitch, tennis court, helipad and mini lake .
ms millen said she was “deeply devastated”. she claimed she had been a victim of fraud by kaupthing, the collapsed icelandic bank, which financed the buyer of her business in 2004 for £95 million .
her much - loved former teacher and head of fashion, sheelagh wright, is now project director and together they took on 22 students for the first year. karen travels out three times a year and is delighted at the progress .
the shift in the fashion landscape has led to a concerted push by karen millen’s new management to shed its “footballers’ wives” image by highlighting, among other things, that its clothes are designed at head office in london’s trendy shoreditch district. however, the most recent accounts available at companies house show a loss of £10. 5m on sales of £161m in the year to the end of february 2016, reflecting the heavy investment involved in the revamp .
a lot has happened in the last five years but, as karen says :
great things can come out of changes, and even when bad things happen, i' ll always try and put a positive spin to it .
instead of having buyers, karen millen designs all of its clothes in the uk. unusually, it also has its own pattern cutters. these are the people that turn a design into an item of clothing. metheringham is fiercely proud of this side of the business and eagerly gives me a tour of the pattern room – a huge light - filled workshop, littered with dummies, all draped in material, some closer to resembling finished items than others .
metheringham was hired by millen and her then husband and co - founder of the brand, kevin stanford, as design director in 1999. two years later, millen and stanford sold half the business to icelandic bank kaupthing, and in 2004 lost majority control when the business was merged with oasis (backed by another icelandic group, baugur) to create mosaic fashions. metheringham stayed on and was made joint managing director in 2009 .
then he cruelly bragged to friends that she gave him £1 million after he had seduced her. karen looks embarrassed when asked about this. ‘i went out with him at a time when i was feeling emotionally fragile, ’ she says stiffly .
karen millen, designer, entrepreneur, multi - millionairess and mum, makes such a quiet entrance into the lounge where i am sitting admiring her fabulous view that i nearly drop my coffee cup. it' s typical of her - a petite 5ft 2in, with her long blonde hair, black jeans and t - shirt, she could be any yummy mummy waiting at the school gate, and is modest to a fault about her success and undeniable talents .
the primary function of the press office is media relations on behalf of karen millen; they secure press coverage to include features, news pieces and product placement on the km brand in all media around the world. this include print and digital media as well as blogger engagement and social media. they also look after our seasonal press events and special brand projects. they also manage the seasonal brand campaigns which include the shoots, media advertising placement and public relations .
the tailored in london atelier gave our customers the chance to experience the craftsmanship and strong creative spirit that lies behind everything we do at karen millen. each piece was precision cut and crafted with traditional tailoring techniques, using luxurious fabrics to create a modern and highly personal garment for each customer, here in london. the direct personal connection between our designers and pattern cutters enables us to perfect our signature tailored fit and deliver incredible quality for our customers in store .
ms millen has certainly enjoyed an a - list lifestyle in recent years. aside from the upkeep of her lavish home and the porsche she used to drive around in, her three children have also been privately educated .
millen did not cut all ties with the company. she and her family trust retained a stake of almost 7% , while stanford held a further 3. 75% , as well as owning 8% of baugur. both baugur and mosaic were casualties of the icelandic crisis. now millen claims she was duped by her former co - investors, saying :
i will not rest until i have my company completely restored to me .
miss millen, who was awarded an obe in 2009, has three children and lives in a late georgian house in tonbridge, kent, which boasts a swimming pool, tennis courts, a football pitch and a lake .
one leading city accountant who advised his client to invest in the scheme told the mail last night that ms millen should have known the scheme was ‘risky’ and kept the tax on one side in case she needed to pay it .
but despite receiving £35m for her share of the business – a blockbuster deal that involved millen signing away the rights to use her own name – the rags - to - riches story returned to rags in the high court after she failed to hand over an estimated £6m that hm revenue and customs said it was owed. millen told the times her accountants had advised her to use a tax planning scheme, the validity of which was successfully challenged by hmrc in 2010 .
although kaupthing had made her rich, millen and stanford, whose business interests remained linked despite their divorce in 2001, suffered heavy losses after the bank failed during the 2008 banking crisis, taking many of their personal investments with it .
revenue and customs challenged the scheme and, in 2010, the court of appeal ruled that the uk could tax the gains on the disposals. millen was reportedly ordered to pay about £6m back to the taxman in september last year .
naturally creative, karen made clothes and furniture for her dolls. she considered an apprenticeship as a painter - decorator so that she could earn money to help her family, but a school visit to a college fashion show ignited her passion for design at the age of 16 .
and now she is starting out again. ‘i want to have something small of my own. i am not looking to build another brand. i want something more personal to me that i can enjoy doing again. ’ the new line of clothing will be called karen .
millen set up her business in 1981 with her partner kevin stanford. the chain was acquired by icelandic investor baugur in 2004. the deal – valued at £95million – included an agreement that stopped her using her own name in future business ventures .
millen also said that in 2001 her accountants advised her to enter a tax avoidance scheme called round the world, which promised members they could avoid millions in capital gains tax from the sale of shares by transferring the shares to trustees in mauritius .
according to the times, millen — whose clothes eponymous high street chain helped to define what women wore to work for the past two decades — could now lose her £3 million home in kent as well as any other properties, cars and valuables .
millen said she was advised by her accountants to invest in a tax avoidance scheme called round the world in 2001. the scheme sought to avoid uk capital gains tax on planned disposals of shares by putting them into the hands of trustees in mauritius .
i think it' s very difficult, isn' t it? to apply what we would consider to be our life standards to other people' s standards in china .
karen millen has signed up to the ethical trading initiative, an alliance of companies and ngos that has developed a code of conduct, which is generally well - received among campaigners .
i think you almost need to take that very professional approach to it ,
she says .
i don' t think you ever relax about it .
ms millen meanwhile claimed this week that she had been a victim of fraud by kaupthing, a collapsed icelandic bank, which financed the buyer of her business in 2004 for £95 million — though what that fraud was, exactly, she did not make clear .
in 2003, she became embroiled in a relationship with convicted fraudster graham briggs who had recently been released from prison after a £50, 000 fraud on the isle of wight and who was running the hotel that millen had checked in to in france’s dordogne region .
however, the hmrc won a legal dispute with round the world in 2010 – as the scheme was found to be “carefully orchestrated” from the uk and could therefore be taxed – and issued millen with a notice to pay about £6 million in september last year .
karen millen employs some 1, 100 people in the uk, with 200 in head office and the rest in shops. the manufacturing is done abroad, about half in china and half in eastern europe. metheringham says this is not just for financial reasons .
i think it would be difficult to find the people who were prepared to take the trouble [ in the uk ]. some of the clothes we make have up to 80 pattern pieces. somebody' s really got to be prepared to put that extra bit of skill into it .
keen on painting and decorating, school said it wasn' t really a career for girls and suggested fashion instead - and the rest is history. aged 19, fresh out of college, she went on holiday and met kevin, who was doing a degree in engineering but interested in starting up a business with karen .
in the 13 years since millen sold the company, she has appeared to be living in a bubble, dividing her time between her three children and charity fundraising. she celebrated her 50th birthday by throwing a 1930s - themed party on the orient express for close friends that included the models kelly brook and caprice and the entrepreneur jacqueline gold. in interviews millen, who was appointed an obe for services to fashion in 2008, was often snapped posing by the swimming pool of her immaculate georgian mansion, which boasted a football pitch and lake. it is now expected to be sold .
the ‘round the world’ tax avoidance scheme in which ms millen invested offered members the chance of avoiding paying capital gains tax on the sale of shares by transferring them to trustees in a country where the tax rate for capital gains is zero — in her case, the idyllic island of mauritius .
when you' re a bigger company, it' s very much figure led and it' s hard to keep the creativity then ,
says karen .
although it was a wrench selling the business, i was actually quite happy. it was emotional, but definitely the right decision and i' ve never regretted it .
‘there was nothing wrong with the scheme technically, ’ he said. ‘unfortunately there was one test case involving a member whose accountants had left a paper trail to this country and on the back of that everyone else — including ms millen — will now have to pay the tax owed in the uk. ’
millen says she is “devastated” by bankruptcy but blames kaupthing, the collapsed icelandic bank that backed the 2004 deal, rather than her own financial decisions for her current woes. her story is a stark reminder of the noughties’ high street boom, fuelled by the expansion of icelandic banks, that would go spectacularly bust during the credit crunch .
but the action also proved an expensive mistake. insiders pointed out she had been paid “a lot of money” for her name and in 2016 millen lost – the judge agreed with the company that letting her use her signature elsewhere would create confusion for shoppers. the ruling left her to foot an estimated £2m - £3m bill for both sides’ legal costs .
but there was no real love in the house ,
admits karen .
we made it look beautiful, but it had no real heart, so now i' ve really put my heart into it and made it mine. fashion and interiors go hand in hand really, both are about proportions and colours. and i love travelling so i like picking up things and adding them in .
i never wear the clothes ,
millen says .
i think the brand has somewhat stood still and the overall style is in danger of looking a little staid, which is reflected in their performance. although there are one or two pieces that are strong, they become overshadowed by the majority of the collection, which i feel is too heavily branded and overpowering .
when the couple worked together, millen had focused on the creative side while stanford ran the shops. “i was never the driving force behind it, ” she told one interviewer. “it was always kevin. he’s the ambitious one. i’ve just gone along with it. ” the same approach appears to have cost her dearly when it came to investing the fortune they made together .
millen has not designed clothes for the company that bears her name for well over a decade, yet she remains forever yoked to the business that she started with stanford in 1981, when she was just 19. “when i hand over my credit card, people will often say: ‘how funny, you have the same name as the shop, ’” she said in a recent interview.
karen millen is a british women 's clothing retailer , specialising in tailoring , coats and eveningwear . the company has stores throughout the united kingdom , united states , indonesia , austria , denmark , norway , russia , the republic of ireland and many other european countries . 
karen millen is a british women's clothing retailer, specialising in tailoring, coats and eveningwear. the company has stores throughout the united kingdom, united states, indonesia, austria, denmark, norway, russia, the republic of ireland and many other european countries.
karen millen is a british women's clothing retailer, specialising in tailoring, coats and eveningwear. the company has stores throughout the united kingdom, united states, indonesia, austria, denmark, norway, russia, the republic of ireland and many other european countries.