Exit the dress designer who dared to clash with Carole
SHE was one of Britain’s leading couturiers and made Sarah, Duchess of York’s dress for her wedding at Westminster Abbey. But Lindka Cierach has taken the dramatic step of closing down her fashion business.
Cierach — whose clients included Queen Rania of Jordan and Hollywood star Catherine Zeta- Jones — hit the headlines when she became involved in an acrimonious row with Carole Middleton.
‘That’s a part of my life that’s been and done,’ Lindka tells me when asked about the dispute with the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother.
Lindka, 62, who began creating elegant outfits ( prices started at £4,500) at her studio in London’s South Kensington in 1979, is now pursuing a career as a healer. ‘I used to get very drained by being with difficult people,’ she says in an online comment explaining her new path.
Carole, 60, who grew up in a council house before becoming a successful businesswoman, commissioned Lindka to make her outfit for Kate and Prince William’s wedding in 2011.
But after spending four months attending many secret fittings, Carole left the designer stunned only days before the ceremony by refusing to wear the creation.
Lindka still refuses to discuss the dispute, but the allegations made at the time were potentially damaging to her business.
Carole was reported to have accused Lindka, who was approached to make a dress with a matching tailored jacket,
of being ‘ unaccommodating’. It was reported that she had asked the couturier if the outfit could be delivered, unfinished, to her home so she could show it to her friends. Lindka told Carole the request was unconventional — people usually visit the studio — but that she would allow the outfit to leave only if she could accompany it herself to ensure it was not damaged, and that details of the design were not leaked to other parties.
According to a source, Lindka was taken aback when Carole refused and said she no longer wished to wear the outfit.
A fashion insider said: ‘It is unheard of for a couturier to allow something out of their studio unfinished.’
Lindka was reported to have been left ‘completely bemused after all the hard work she had put into creating the outfit’.
She tells me: ‘ I’m now involved in healing and a more balanced and spiritual way of life. It’s a different path and a very happy departure for me.’