Welsh fashion house Julien Macdonald will face liquidation, and Alan Coleman and Marco Piacquadio, directors of U.K. insolvency firm FTS Recovery, have been appointed as joint liquidators, according to a Sunday statement sent to Fashion Dive by FTS.
“The business fell into trouble during the Covid pandemic which affected all aspects of the retail sector,” read the release. “Julien Macdonald lost a significant proportion of revenue following the collapse of Debenhams at the end of 2020.”
In June, the Times of London reported that the failure of Debenhams’ stores left £1.3 billion in unsecured debt owed to clothing suppliers, landlords and lenders, which amounts to approximately $1.7 billion at current exchange. In 2020, the British department store chain went into liquidation after 242 years in business, although the Times reported that it has been struggling for years and had slipped into administration in 2019.
FTS stated that no employees or existing contracts of Macdonald’s business could be saved, but liquidators are selling stock and other assets in order to seek repayment for creditors.
“Due to the loss and under performance of several key contracts, including its main UK retail licensee, along with a previously growing licensee based in the United States, which severely impacted cashflow, the company is now in liquidation,” Coleman said in the release. “The cashflow issues were compounded by general inflationary costs, which impacted on all aspects of the business.”
Julian Macdonald studied at the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art in London, and when he graduated in 1996, Karl Lagerfeld tapped him to lead knitwear at both Chanel and Lagerfeld’s eponymous label. Macdonald stayed there for two years and launched his own label in 1997 while still at Chanel. In 2001, he became creative director of Givenchy, succeeding Alexander McQueen. He stayed there three years before leaving to focus on his own brand.
He has dressed celebrities including Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. He was named British Designer of the Year in 2001, receiving the Order of the British Empire in 2006 for his service to the fashion industry.
Yet the 52-year-old designer wasn’t able to overcome financial challenges brought on by the pandemic.
His last collection, for fall-winter 2024, was presented in February during London Fashion Week. It marked the designer’s return to the runway after a three-year hiatus. Presented as a collaboration between Macdonald and Mexican socialite Gabriela Gonzalez, the collection featured the glitz and showmanship Macdonald is best known for, with laser lights and smoke setting the stage for a parade of mirrored bodysuits, fishscale gowns and pieces covered with feathers, studs and sequins.
FTS is the advisory firm that also handled the recent financial challenges at luxury London-based fashion label Christopher Kane, which announced it was looking for refinancing assistance or a potential buyer in June. Last week, WWD reported that FTS completed a sale allowing siblings Christopher and Tammy Kane to repurchase the company along with their More Joy fashion label.
