Mary, queen of shops, loses her high street spot
SHE calls herself the Queen of Shops, the retail guru and TV star who promised to rescue Britain’s rundown high streets. But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mary Portas has herself disappeared from the high street after her fashion line was quietly dropped by House of Fraser.
The 55-year-old had aimed the clothes at women aged over 40, who she felt were ‘invisible’ to major stores. The vibrant and affordable collection, including her famous ‘tights for arms’, launched in a blaze of publicity in 2011 alongside her Channel 4 series, Mary Queen of Frocks.
The Mail on Sunday understands that the Portas concession in 12 House of Fraser stores ended unexpectedly in the summer as a result of flagging sales. One fashion insider said: ‘It did very well for a while, but then it started to die slowly. To be honest, the public interest just petered out.’
A spokesman for the store insisted its parting with Ms Portas was ‘based on a mutual decision’. It is unclear if she will continue selling her fashion range elsewhere and her spokesman declined to comment on the future of the line.
Ms Portas’s only presence on high streets now is with the Living & Giving charity shops she developed for Save the Children.
Issa London, which was once the label of choice for the Duchess of Cambridge, faces an uncertain future after its majority owner Camilla Al Fayed, daughter of ex-Harrods owner Mohamed, decided to withdraw from the business.
A source close to Miss Al Fayed said: ‘She is pulling the plug as she believes it is impossible to make money in fashion any more.’
Latest figures show that Issa ran up £7.7million debts in 2014.
An Issa spokesman did not return calls last night.