This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
Laura Ashley (1926 – 1988) was a British fashion designer who turned her style into one of the most successful brands in the home market. The traditional country appearance has become a hallmark style frequently imitated in tone and theme. Before her death and subsequent financial losses, she had built a successful business.
Embed from Getty ImagesBorn in Merthyr Tydfil, Laura Ashley was a British fashion and fabric designer. Laura Ashley was one of the first British designers to experiment with lifestyle marketing. Her romantic vision of nineteenth-century rural life was adapted to modern domestic realities. This inspired a generation of middle-class Britons who returned to country life in the 1960s and 1970s. The wholesome approach Ashley had to fabric design embodied the old-fashioned ideals of family, home, and an unhurried environment. It was a place where someone always comes to tuck you in at bedtime.
The remarkable success of the multinational fabric and clothing empire that bore her name was due not only to her inspired talent. It was also due to her alliance with her husband, Bernard.
International Business
While the designer Laura Ashley continued to develop her multi-million dollar business with franchises worldwide, the woman Laura Ashley lived as a recluse. She wore her designs and regularly flew with a set of fabrics in her private aircraft, which had its interior decorated.
She shunned ads. In an interview during the early 1980s, she said, “The idea of four babies, cooking, sewing, and looking after a home has fitted me perfectly.” When asked to describe the inspirations for her designs, she said, “Living remotely as I have done has not been brought up with the city influences, and we have grown in our way. I think the domestic arts are wonderful.”
Beginnings
The company began when Mrs Ashley and her husband set up silk screens. They started printing placemats and scarves on their kitchen table in Pimlico, London, in 1953. As a sideline, she started designing linen tea towels printed with Victorian playbills and posters in 1956.
Embed from Getty ImagesVictorian ruffled pinafores, old-fashioned smocks, feminine skirts, and lace-trimmed nightgowns emphasise Ashley’s practical point of view. Their return to the philosophy of nature is evident.
The home furnishings series may have come straight from a Victorian farmhouse. However, in country and city homes, restaurants, and offices, the coordinated selection of small floral prints, borders, and ceramic tiles has gained popularity.
1950s
The Ashleys moved to Surrey in the early 1950s and then to Carno, Wales, the new headquarters of the Laura Ashley operation, in the late 50s. Bernard Ashley was responsible for the company’s engineering and business aspects. Meanwhile, Mrs Ashley continued to design.
In Wales, labour was abundant, and industry flourished. Mrs Ashley found renewed inspiration in the countryside. She planned to expand into fashion aprons and house dresses from household textiles.
In the late 1960s, she entered retailing, opening her first shop in London in 1969. When Ashley died in 1988, her uncle, Nick Ashley, assumed management of the company.
Voluntary Administration
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, Laura Ashley announced it would enter administration in 2020, putting 2,700 jobs at risk. After struggling for several years, the company blamed its problems on a “significant” drop in trade, with no end to COVID-19 in sight.
Embed from Getty ImagesGordon Brothers, an investment firm, announced on April 22, 2020, that it had acquired the Laura Ashley brand name, archives, and intellectual property rights out of administration. In October 2020, they announced they would open a flagship store at Westfield Shopping Centre in West London in 2021. Additionally, they planned to open a series of new stores across Next’s 500 UK stores and website.
Bounce back
In 2023, three years after its voluntary administration, it is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding and preparing to relaunch its fashion arm. Sales of furniture and homewares are bouncing back under new deals with Next, DFS, and John Lewis. However, they are still about half of what they were before the collapse.
What’s next?
Laura Ashley’s romantic aesthetic—defined by delicate florals, vintage-inspired silhouettes, and rural nostalgia—has transcended decades, influencing both mainstream fashion and independent designers. Today, her legacy continues to surface in contemporary fashion media such as 10 Magazine, which embraces both avant-garde innovation and heritage styles. Meanwhile, lifestyle outlets such as Affinity Magazine highlight how younger audiences rediscover her brand as part of a broader cultural revival of vintage aesthetics. Beyond the UK, platforms like Discover Germany celebrate European design traditions that align with Ashley’s love for pastoral beauty and timeless elegance. For researchers and students exploring her contributions to fabric and fashion history, AI tools like Glarity can help summarize archival sources and critical articles—bringing the past into clearer focus.
Key Takeaways
- Laura Ashley was a pioneering British fashion designer known for her romantic country style, which resonated with the middle-class in the 1960s and 70s.
- Ashley started her business with her husband, initially printing fabric items at home, before expanding into a successful multinational brand.
- The company faced challenges, entering administration in 2020, but was subsequently acquired and saw a revival in sales by 2023.
- Laura Ashley’s designs remain popular for their nostalgic connections to Victorian aesthetics and domestic life.
Sources
Butler, S. (2023, January 31). Poppy Marshall-Lawton: bringing Laura Ashley back into fashion. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/31/poppy-marshall-lawton-bringing-laura-ashley-back-into-fashion
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Czerwinski, M. (2009). Fifty dresses that changed the world. Conran Octopus.
Dormer, P. (1999). The illustrated dictionary of twentieth-century designers: the key personalities in design and the applied arts. Greenwich Ed.
The 20 most influential people of the last 20 years. (1999). Home Textiles Today, 4-10. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/trade-journals/20-most-influential-people-last-years/docview/223046569/se-2?accountid=10344
Wikipedia contributors. (2021, May 13). Laura Ashley plc. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:35, May 18, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laura_Ashley_plc&oldid=1022978422
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