Lulu Guinness
Encyclopedia
Lucinda "Lulu" Jane Guinness, OBE (born 1960) is a well-known British accessories fashion designer.
Lulu Guinness OBE famous for her unique and quintessentially British handbag
s and accessories, launched her company in 1989. Instant praise in the fashion media paved the way for Lulu Guinness shops in London, New York and Tokyo. Her unique creations are also sold in department and specialty stores worldwide, including Harrods
, Selfridges
and Fortnum and Mason in the UK, Brown Thomas
in Ireland and Lane Crawford
in Hong Kong.
Lulu passionately designs the interior of her own stores herself to ensure she captures the true essence of the brand, creating a location where customers can come and be part of the Lulu Guinness experience.
Lulu's Collectable bags described as 'tomorrow's treasures', have become permanent fixtures in many museums. The Florist Basket is in the permanent fashion collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum
, London. The Collectables have also been the subjects of two exhibitions in Sotheby's
London and New York.
Meanwhile her bags are seen on the arms of an ever-expanding array of celebrity supporters, amongst them Dita von Teese
, Helena Bonham Carter
, Katy Perry
, Florence Welch
, Christina Aguilera
, Rachel Weisz
, Agyness Deyn
, and Alexa Chung
.
Despite her success Lulu has never had any formal design training apart from a year's foundation course at art school and a long-standing passion for design and fashion.
Lulu's strong personal style and her original vision has played a large part in her success, with Elsa Schiaparelli
as her icon Lulu lives by her motto ‘Dare to be Different’.
In 2006 Lulu was awarded an OBE from the Queen and in 2009 she was awarded The Independent Handbag Designer Awards ICONOCLAST Award for Lifetime Achievement in Handbag Design.
descended from a colonial administrator.
Lulu Guinness OBE famous for her unique and quintessentially British handbag
Handbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
s and accessories, launched her company in 1989. Instant praise in the fashion media paved the way for Lulu Guinness shops in London, New York and Tokyo. Her unique creations are also sold in department and specialty stores worldwide, including Harrods
Harrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
, Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
and Fortnum and Mason in the UK, Brown Thomas
Brown Thomas
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of four Irish department stores, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. Owned by Wittington Investments, Brown Thomas is an upmarket chain, akin to Canada's Holt Renfrew chain and Britain's Selfridges stores, which are also controlled by the Weston...
in Ireland and Lane Crawford
Lane Crawford
Lane Crawford is a retailing company with specialty stores selling designer label luxury goods in Hong Kong and Beijing, China....
in Hong Kong.
Lulu passionately designs the interior of her own stores herself to ensure she captures the true essence of the brand, creating a location where customers can come and be part of the Lulu Guinness experience.
Lulu's Collectable bags described as 'tomorrow's treasures', have become permanent fixtures in many museums. The Florist Basket is in the permanent fashion collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London. The Collectables have also been the subjects of two exhibitions in Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
London and New York.
Meanwhile her bags are seen on the arms of an ever-expanding array of celebrity supporters, amongst them Dita von Teese
Dita Von Teese
Dita Von Teese is an American burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author and actress.-Early life:...
, Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
, Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, Florence Welch
Florence Welch
Florence Leontine Mary Welch is an English singer-songwriter, best known worldwide as the lead singer of Florence and the Machine...
, Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
, Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
, Agyness Deyn
Agyness Deyn
Agyness Deyn is an English fashion model, actress and singer.-Early life:Deyn is from Failsworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester...
, and Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung is an English television presenter, model and contributing editor at British Vogue.She currently hosts Gonzo with Alexa Chung for MTV UK, and is scheduled to host Thrift America for PBS in 2011...
.
Despite her success Lulu has never had any formal design training apart from a year's foundation course at art school and a long-standing passion for design and fashion.
Lulu's strong personal style and her original vision has played a large part in her success, with Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
as her icon Lulu lives by her motto ‘Dare to be Different’.
In 2006 Lulu was awarded an OBE from the Queen and in 2009 she was awarded The Independent Handbag Designer Awards ICONOCLAST Award for Lifetime Achievement in Handbag Design.
Family
She is the daughter of Sir Miles Rivett-Carnac, 9th BaronetRivett-Carnac Baronets
The Rivett-Carnac Baronetcy, of Derby, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 March 1836 for James Rivett-Carnac, Chairman of the East India Company, Member of Parliament for Sandwich and Governor of Bombay. His father James Rivett had assumed by Royal warrant the...
descended from a colonial administrator.