Kate’s fashion curse

At first, her magic touch sends sales soaring – but that’s the problem, as Orla Kiely is the latest designer to discover

For any fashion designer, having a member of the royal family wear your clothes is the ultimate endorsement, guaranteed — one might think — to send sales soaring.

But when that royal is the Duchess of Cambridge, it seems, her sartorial support can be counterproductive.

over the years, several of Kate’s favourite designers — high-end and High Street — have reported financial difficulties, crippling losses and, in some cases, been forced to shut up shop completely.

The latest casualty is orla Kiely, the Irish fashion retailer which this week collapsed and closed all its stores after a slump in profits.

And rather than being coincidental, fashion experts say there may be a link between Kate’s backing of a fashion designer — and financial woes further down the line. For although clothes fly off the shelves at first — the so-called Kate Effect has boosted the UK economy by £152m a year — this requires a huge increase in production. As a result, many retailers take out loans, rack up debts they can’t pay and end up on the brink of bankruptcy.

What’s more, customers acquired this way tend to buy one- off items rather than become loyal shoppers — and then move on when Kate debuts a new look. As one designer endorsed by the Duchess put it, it’s like being hit by a ‘tsunami of global interest’.

So who’s fallen victim to the Curse of Kate?