The reinvention of Cath Kidston – and the former McQueen designer reshaping the brand
“People either love it... or want to stab us,” Cath Kidston herself once said of the divisive vintage floral aesthetic she pioneered and popularised in the 1990s. It was a phrase replayed in the press in April 2020, as the 28 year-old British high street brand fell into administration. Conclusion? The stabbers had won in the end.
The death of Cath Kidston was perhaps declared too prematurely, though. All 60 of its UK stores were permanently shuttered and 902 staff made redundant, as it became one of the first high street casualties in the pandemic. But Hong Kong private equity owner Baring bought back the online, franchise and wholesale arms of the business.
From the rubble, a rebuild; there are now 122 UK employees. Melinda Paraie, CEO since 2018, installed a fresh leadership team, poaching a new chief commercial officer, Suzanne Egleton, from AllSaints, and former Liberty design director Holly Marler as creative director. Marler’s first collection launches this week; online, in the retained 146 international stores, and in the brand’s new London Piccadilly flagship.
“I love this kind of challenge, because I knew I had to turn it around,” says Marler, who started her role in October last year. “The brand had a massive cult following and a great history. Print design is integral to everything that I do, I knew I was the woman for this job.”
Formerly of Alexander McQueen, Temperley and Liberty London, original, exquisite print designs are indeed Marler’s speciality. In her week off between finishing at Liberty and starting at Cath Kidston, she painted, filling a sketchbook with motifs that she felt might contribute to her new “print language” for the brand. The resulting debut, her ‘Rose Revival’ collection, contains new takes on classic florals, hidden messages and symbols within ditsy prints and the most appealing colour combinations to come out of the retailer in at least five years.
“It was about taking our heritage but making it relevant,” she says. “You can reimagine a vintage print in contemporary colours, or by changing the scale. Tongue in cheek humour is really important to me and Cath Kidston can do it so well; prints needed to speak to people and have a personality, as they haven’t for some time.”
Getting the right balance between what Marler calls “camp winks” within designs, and creating novelty graphics, is something which the brand had lost its way with in recent years. In attempting to make quaintness and Britishness appeal to international markets (40 of those 146 global shops are in Japan) the regular use of double decker bus and sausage dog cartoons had inadvertently turned off audiences at home.
“It has been hard, and it's a work in progress,” admits Marler of her task to find a handwriting that appeals to all. “[Application of] colour has been really key to changing that kitchness. This year with roses for example, instead of doing navy as a base for a pink rose, we’ve done khaki green with bright orange roses. Drawing style is important too; making things a little rougher around the edges and not quite as perfect.”
Kidston herself stepped down as creative director in 2016, but was involved in the hiring process of Marler and met with her. She founded the brand from her kitchen table in 1993 (after noticing that her dreary ironing board could do with a more exciting patterned cover) and grew it to a point where turnover exceeded £100 million in 2013. Now 63, today Kidston still holds a minority stake.
“She spoke to me about her early inspirations, the Notting Hill vintage markets and how the red stripes in her prints came from sweet wrappers she remembered from her childhood,” Marler details. “I had to do a project [as part of the job interview process] and she likes a lot of the same inspirations as me.”
After speaking to Kidston, one of the first categories Marler set her sights on revitalising was tableware.
“When she was speaking to me about her homeware designs from the early days, I thought what she was doing then is like what a lot of people are doing now,” Marler explains. “The tablescape now is an art form. Cath was all about taking functional objects and making them really pretty.”
When it came to the womenswear offering, Marler was also inspired by Cath and her penchant for 1940s tea dresses. The Forever Print dress in her debut collection has a patchwork of polka dot and rose bunch prints on organic cotton cut into a flattering vintage silhouette. 40 percent of this womenswear collection is made from sustainably sourced materials, with a commitment to increase further each season ahead.
For Marler, bringing her luxury market learnings to the high street was essential.
“The print placement on a bar of soap has to be as special as the silk scarves,” she reiterates. “I’ve never been about print slapping; designing a print and putting onto this and that. Everything is hand painted for its purpose.”
Marler can list endless takeaways from her time at McQueen – one of the most visible acknowledgements perhaps is the silk square scarves she has introduced at Cath Kidston, with perfectly illustrated borders.
“McQueen was so into his storytelling,” she remembers. “He didn't care what other people were doing around him. I'm still working like that for a high street brand, with a theme and making sure each print has a meaning. That [originality] is what gives people a reason to buy something.”
The run up to Christmas will be Marler’s most important test to date. She recalls a stat that in the past, one in five people bought a Cath Kidston item as a gift for a loved one during the holidays. She’s hoping her designs will all be snapped up - right down to the specially designed tins for Cadbury’s Roses, which should end up in most households.
“I want this collection to be well received and sell this Christmas but I really want people to have that same sentiment for it that they used to for the brand,” she says. “I think we can earn that. I want to see everyone in a Cath Kidston dress and smiling.”
Brave soul print dress, £80; Silk scarf, £60; Sunshine side plate, £8
All at cathkidston.com
