The Florist Basket and the Violet Hanging Basket are just two of the designs that have been included in the permanent fashion collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. They have also been subjects of two exhibitions in Sotheby’s London and New York.
Meanwhile her bags are seen on the arms of an ever-expanding list of A-list celebrities, and singers amongst them are Dita von Teese, Helena Bonham Carter, Katy Perry, Sophie Dahl, Rachel Weisz, Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Agyness Deyn, Alex Chung, Christina Aguilera and Florence and the Machine.
Emma has brought such labels as Lulu Guinness, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi, Beatrix Ong, Marc Jacobs, Sonia Rykiel, and Juicy Couture to both her stores in Manchester and Whalley, Lancashire and it was famous designer, Lulu Guinness who travelled to Manchester expressly to visit the Poshu store. Lulu Guinness OBE is famous for her design of exquisite, witty handbags and accessories.
Lulu Guinness OBE launched her company in 1989 and instantly became a “must” in every fashion aficionado’s international address book. Wild praise in the fashion media paved the way for Lulu Guinness shops in London, New York and Tokyo.
Her unique creations are also sold in department and specialty stores worldwide, including Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason in the UK, Brown Thomas in Ireland and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and, of course, in our own Poshu Boutiques in Police Street, Manchester and Whalley in Lancashire.
All Lulu Guinness stores are designed by Lulu herself and provide the perfect showcase for the entire range of accessories. Poshu in Police Street has become a strictly Lulu shop for two days this month, the first was when Lulu’s original visit was postponed due to the
ash cloud which spoiled so many individuals travel arrangements across the world. Lulu was ensconced in New York for two weeks and was unable to fly back. Along with Lulu in New York was her daughter Maddy who needed to get back to the UK to attend her school. After discussions with Lulu’s representatives, Emma Stanworth and her team of staff still dedicated a day to Lulu.
Emma says, It was a great success, although we missed having Lulu visit us that day we were given the fabulous opportunity to showcase and give our customers a sneak preview of the Autumn 2010 collections and we still had the knowledge that we would be able to welcome her very soon to our Manchester boutique and have a second extra special day, this time with Lulu present!
Emma opened Poshu in Manchester last autumn just over three years after opening Poshu in Whalley. Her clientele has steadily grown during this time. Emma feels that the desire for top designer shoe wear has continued to increase even in today’s financial market. The Poshu online business has also continued to grow too.
Lulu’s collectable bags have been described as ‘tomorrow’s treasures’ and have become permanent fixtures in many museums.
Despite her success Lulu has never had any formal design training apart from a year’s foundation course at art school and a long-standing passion for design and fashion. In 1989, she left her job in video production to start her own business from the basement of the house in west London.
Lulu’s strong personal style and her original ideas have played a large part in her success with her design inspiration springing partly from retro glamour and partly from modern chic. In 2006 Lulu was awarded an OBE from the Queen and in 2009 she was awarded The Independent Handbag Designer Awards ICONOCLAST Award for Lifetime Achievement in Handbag Design.
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LIFE - 27
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