Karen Millen England – Why I Regret Giving Away My Vintage Pieces
Karen Millen England made tailoring that lasted. Why I regret parting with mine, the founder’s return, and what Boohoo’s ownership means for the label.
One decision I regret is giving my collection of Karen Millen England clothing, which I bought two decades ago, to charity. I did predict a surge in vintage Karen Millen. Not any more. These days I can’t even find it on Vestiaire Collective. I read recently in the Telegraph that Karen Millen has a new direction, which is hard to fathom when Boohoo owns it. To me Boohoo is a trash online brand, fast fashion.
As the Telegraph reported, the brand was bought by Boohoo, the fast-fashion company, in 2019 and became an online-only brand. Karen Millen started her line in 1981, at the age of 19, with a bank loan of £100. Its rise and fall is her story too.
The dress above is mine, and so are the lace skirt and the silk top in the photographs below.
If you grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, you probably have a soft spot for Karen Millen. The British brand was known for stylish, slightly daring office wear and party outfits.
The balance between quality and price
For me, the thing to weigh up is quality against price. The jackets are selling for much the same as they did in the 1980s and 1990s, and prices everywhere else have gone up. So something has to give. Unless more goes into the fabrics and finishes, I can’t see the new jackets matching the old ones.
This brand stood out back in the day for its exceptional quality in fabrics and stitching, and it left a lasting impression. It is why I am writing about it after twenty years.
The designer’s love, passion and commitment to detail were evident in every piece.
Tailoring for women
It can be hard to find affordable brands that do proper tailoring for women. Karen Millen was a great option when the sales were on, which was usually twice a year. That was one of the advantages of shopping in central London. With the rise of fast fashion, the anticipation for a new Karen Millen collection has gone.
Back in the day
Karen Millen, the founder, has said it was common for two women to turn up at a wedding in the same dress from the brand, and that this was a challenge for the company.
Over the following twenty years the brand lost its standing in fashion. Millen sold it in 2004. After that it grew to 400 stores in 65 countries.
The comeback
Karen Millen, the brand and the woman, is having a comeback. In October 2022 Liz Truss, then Prime Minister, wore a red, belted Karen Millen Forever dress for her keynote speech at the Conservative party conference.
On the same day the Princess of Wales wore a yellow version with a pleated skirt to an engagement. She was later seen in a burgundy wrap dress from the label on a walkabout in Birmingham.
Fashion regrets
Millen, then 61, had mixed feelings when she heard about Liz and Kate on the same day. She was glad for the brand, because it showed that it still mattered and had not been forgotten. But she admitted she had played no part in it.
The Gen-X fanbase
Millen has come back for her Gen-X fans with a new 30-piece collection called The Founder, which returns to the look the label had when she ran it. There are crisp shirts worn with neckties, and the kimono-style dresses that were once a staple of the brand. For the Telegraph interview she wore leather trousers.
She has said she was nervous and excited walking back in, and worried about living up to expectations and to a reputation. At first she had dismissed the idea of going back. Then she came to see that she had retired too early, and that she still had the energy and the enthusiasm for the work.
Don’t retire too early
Leaving work early was a mistake, she says, and she laughs that she doesn’t enjoy golf. Everyone needs a sense of purpose. She is in good health and ready for something new.
Going back with Boohoo could have been awkward. Only a few years earlier Millen had criticised the company in strong terms.
Karen Millen and Boohoo
For me, the takeover cost a once high-end brand its reputation and its direction.
Was it embarrassing to meet Boohoo after that? “It wasn’t, because they approached me. It wasn’t like I went to them with my tail between my legs,” Millen says. “The disappointment for me was about something we’d built going off the high street. I just felt sadness that our legacy had gone.”
The famous names
The brand has been seen a lot more in recent years. Elizabeth Hurley modelled one of its collections. Jill Biden has been named as a supporter. A collection with Elle Macpherson was announced for late May.
Carrie Johnson, Zara Tindall and Tess Daly have all been seen in its dresses. Millen, for her part, found that her fears were unfounded and that she wanted to design again. So she put her earlier comments behind her.
Boohoo the saviour
The brand had started to look lacklustre, and Boohoo had a job on its hands to restore its name. It may not be back where it was. But Boohoo seems set on placing it at the top end of its brands.
Millen is soft-spoken and level-headed when she talks about what she has been through. There is no self-pity, and only now and then does her voice give her away. What she comes back to is that she still wants to create. She describes her life as a journey with its share of challenges and successes, and says she has come through it.
Humble beginnings
Millen received an OBE in 2007 for her contribution to the fashion industry. She grew up in a council house in Maidstone, Kent. Her father was a carpet-fitter and her mother a secretary.
After a City and Guilds course in fashion she started out making white shirts, cut from bolts of white fabric at her mother’s kitchen table. With her then boyfriend, Stanford, she sold them to friends. Two years later they opened their first shop.
Over two decades they married and opened another 129 stores. Millen designed and Stanford ran the business. They were young and driven, and they did it side by side, cutting fabric and working in the shop.
The old Karen Millen
The old Karen Millen worked like an atelier. Designs were put on models and adjusted as needed. Companies now tend to send their designs straight to the factory.
She can see the benefits of being able to choose clothes from all sorts of places online. We create our own identity when we steer away from what the shops have decided for us. Fashion is no longer dictated by trends alone, and there is plenty to wear and still look the part. The key is finding the style that suits you.
I am now on a mission to hunt down the Karen Millen pieces I recklessly gave away, many moons ago.
