Laura Ashley

I have often wondered if Kath Kidston and Vanessa Arbuthnott are modern day Laura Ashley's? above anything else they all have an unbelievable cult following, there designs are so easily identifiable to there brand name, what is it about these designers that catapults there designs above everyone else's? and why do we follow them so loyally? I remember as a young teenager catching a bus into Oxford to visit the Laura Ashley shop in Little Clarendon Street, the mere sight of that green shop front and I couldn't wait to get inside, matching wallpaper, fabric, lampshades the possibilities were endless! I would save every penny I had to buy a few meters of fabric, to make what? I had no idea! I have always been such a spendthrift when it comes to fabric, well not just fabric if i'm being honest!! I recently bought 2 Laura Ashley catalogues from Ebay from the mid 80's, the designs and roomsets, sparked hundreds of memories of curtains and blinds that I had made over the years! Sadly Laura Ashley today is a somewhat different animal, although they still have some great designs I find the company a bit too commercialy led as opposed to being design led! Funny how times change!