As one of Kate’s favourite brands closes, what went wrong for Beulah?
Good connections are not enough to survive in fashion today, says as the luxury ethical label’s fate shows
When Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan founded their fashion label, Beulah, in 2010, it seemed primed for success. It had an appealing product line-up of timeless printed midi dresses, demand for which never seems to fade. It also had an uncompromisingly ethical business model, with all designs sustainably made in India by women who have been victims of sex trafficking, plus 10 per cent of profits donated to anti-slavery causes. And it had a ready-made army of high-profile supporters thanks to its well-connected founders – Rufus Isaacs is the daughter of the 4th Marquess of Reading and a long-time friend of Prince William.
But a decade is a long time in fashion, and despite the support of high-profile fans including the Duchess and Holly Willoughby, a Belgravia boutique, plus Matchesfashion.com as a stockist, the business has been making a loss. And so at the end of last month, it emerged that the label had quietly gone into voluntary liquidation, with its 11 employees made redundant.
Beulah joins a growing number of fashion brands to have fallen victim to the coronavirus crisis. According to the British Fashion Council, the industry is set to be hit twice as hard as other sectors. And brands that skew more formal in their aesthetic were always going to feel the most damage, as so many weddings and summer season events have been cancelled. This was
Tamara Abraham,
Perhaps the fashion landscape has changed and Beulah is simply a victim
the case for Beulah, according to a statement from Quantuma, which handled the label’s liquidation. “The enforced closure of the business, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, saw demand for luxury eveningwear collapse with the cancellation of all social gatherings,” it read. Whether the Duchess of Cambridge was aware of her friends’ label’s woes is unclear, but she has added two new Beulah dresses to her wardrobe in recent months. Zara Tindall also showed her support, wearing a Beulah dress as she took part in Royal Ascot from home.
Quantuma says Beulah had tripled its revenue over the past year, but having suffered a loss of £1.7million in 2018, it’s clear that Beulah was in a less than healthy financial position long before Covid came along. It may be that its target audience simply found its £500-plus dresses just a little too expensive. After all, in the years since it launched, brands including Selfportrait, Rixo and Needle & Thread have emerged, creating a new niche for accessible designer formalwear, with prices in the £250-400 bracket. They may not offer the same compelling ethical angle, but that’s not always going to swing it for customers in search of their next party frock.
Beulah’s website has been out of action for a few months now. However, Rufus Isaacs has still been promoting the label. She recently appeared in a glossy family shoot in Hello! magazine announcing the arrival of her third daughter, India – a name inspired by her charitable and business links to the country. The brand had investors, of course – Rufus Isaacs and Brennan raised over £500,000 in a seed funding round in 2016. But reports in the Mail on Sunday say the label owed around £1million to creditors, and according to The Times, one backer is furious that they were never given a chance to rescue the brand before liquidation proceedings began.
According to Quantuma, the liquidation process was completed on August 7, and the brand’s assets have been sold. All this is pretty definitive proof that a business is closing for good, but in a statement of her own, shared with The Telegraph, Brennan remained vague about Beulah’s future. “We have dedicated the last ten years to improving the livelihoods of vulnerable and trafficked women through the business of fashion, and remain fully committed to our original mission,” she said. “As the business comes out the other side of this crisis, we are focused on securing the long term future of the brand and its social impact.”
Either way, the fashion landscape has changed, and it may be that Beulah is simply a victim of the changing times. There’s no question that it is more unforgiving than it’s ever been, especially post-lockdown. And in the age of Instagram, are those royal and celebrity ambassadors as key as they once were?
One thing is certainly clear: in 2020, good intentions and good connections are simply not enough to help a fashion brand thrive.