Miss Selfridge
Encyclopedia
Miss Selfridge is a nationwide UK high street store which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges
department store in London in 1966. Miss Selfridge got its name when Charles Clore
, the owner of Selfridges at the time, saw a window display in the Bonwit Teller
store in New York
which showed "Miss Bonwit" dresses aimed specifically at teenagers.
The first of Miss Selfridge's mannequins were based on sixties icon and model Twiggy
, and the first dresses were paper dresses designed to be worn once and then thrown away, by Sylvia Ayton and Zandra Rhodes
. Couturier Pierre Cardin
was also commissioned by Miss Selfridge to design four exclusive collections a year.
, which is owned by Sir Philip Green
, acquired Miss Selfridge, along with Wallis
and Outfit, from Sears plc
. Arcadia Group also includes Topshop
, British Home Stores, Dorothy Perkins
, Evans
, Burton, and Topman
.
in their campaigns and has used other successful models and actresses such as Naomi Campbell
, Yasmin le Bon
, Tess Daly
, Saffron Burrows
and Nicollette Sheridan
before they found major success.
In 2006, to celebrate its 40th year of business, Miss Selfridge relaunched limited edition make up palettes containing some of the most successful products from the "Kiss and Make Up" make up range, which is now discontinued.
A recent collaboration with Bella Freud
in 2005 was short lived.
Miss Selfridge also sponsored the Victoria and Albert Museum
's 1960s fashion exhibition from 6 June 2006 - 25 February 2007.
In April 2010, Miss Selfridge launched the Gossip Girl
Collection in which they had worked with Eric Damon, the stylist of the show Gossip Girl
, to create a line of 8 dresses based on the four main female characters.
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...
department store in London in 1966. Miss Selfridge got its name when Charles Clore
Charles Clore
Sir Charles Clore was a British financier, retail and property magnate and philanthropist.-Career:Charles Clore owned, through Sears Holdings, the British Shoe Corporation and Selfridges department store, as well as investing heavily in property.He owned Jowett Cars Ltd from 1945-1947 where he was...
, the owner of Selfridges at the time, saw a window display in the Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
store in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which showed "Miss Bonwit" dresses aimed specifically at teenagers.
History
By 1967 Miss Selfridge had concessions throughout the country within department stores, and by 1969 there were some independent branches on the high street.The first of Miss Selfridge's mannequins were based on sixties icon and model Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
, and the first dresses were paper dresses designed to be worn once and then thrown away, by Sylvia Ayton and Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI, is an English fashion designer.Zandra Rhodes was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother, who was a fitter in a Paris fashion house and a teacher at Medway College of Art, now the University for the Creative Arts. Rhodes studied first at Medway and then at the...
. Couturier Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
was also commissioned by Miss Selfridge to design four exclusive collections a year.
Ownership
In July 1999 Arcadia GroupArcadia Group
The Arcadia Group Limited a British company that owns the high street clothing retailers Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and BHS, and the out of town chain Outfit, which sells lines from the other group chains...
, which is owned by Sir Philip Green
Philip Green
Sir Philip Green is a British businessman. Green was born into a Jewish family in 1952, beginning as a businessman at the age of 15. The first and last quoted company Green took lead of was "Amber Day", from which he stepped down as CEO and Chairman in 1992...
, acquired Miss Selfridge, along with Wallis
Wallis (retailer)
Wallis is a British women's clothing retailer. The brand operates from 134 stores and 126 concessions across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Wallis is a subsidiary of the Arcadia Group and one of the many companies under ownership of Philip Green, a British retailing icon.-History:The first store...
and Outfit, from Sears plc
Sears plc
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Sir Philip Green in 1999.-History:...
. Arcadia Group also includes Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
, British Home Stores, Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins, whose trading name was inspired by a rambler rose of the same name, is a large British women's clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom.- History :...
, Evans
Evans (clothing retailer)
Evans is a women's clothing retailer located in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They have over 300 stores around the UK selling plus-size clothing, lingerie, wide fitting shoes, swimwear and accessories.- Timeline :...
, Burton, and Topman
Topman
TOPMAN is the stand-alone fashion business counterpart of Topshop that caters exclusively to men’s clothing. A part of the Arcadia Group, which also owns Burton, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans, British Home Stores and Dorothy Perkins, Topman has a chain of high-street men's clothing stores located...
.
Advertising and promotion
Miss Selfridge was one of the first retailers to use Kate MossKate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
in their campaigns and has used other successful models and actresses such as Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
, Yasmin le Bon
Yasmin Le Bon
Yasmin Le Bon is a British Iranian fashion model. She was born to an Iranian father and an English mother...
, Tess Daly
Tess Daly
Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly is an English television presenter. She is married to the presenter Vernon Kay.-Early life:Daly was born in Derbyshire to Vivian , who died of emphysema, and Sylvia Daly...
, Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
and Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
before they found major success.
In 2006, to celebrate its 40th year of business, Miss Selfridge relaunched limited edition make up palettes containing some of the most successful products from the "Kiss and Make Up" make up range, which is now discontinued.
A recent collaboration with Bella Freud
Bella Freud
Bella Freud is a London-based fashion designer with a number of celebrity clients.-Life and career:Freud was born in London, England. She is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and artist Lucian Freud and great granddaughter of the inventor of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. Her father Lucian Freud...
in 2005 was short lived.
Miss Selfridge also sponsored 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...
's 1960s fashion exhibition from 6 June 2006 - 25 February 2007.
In April 2010, Miss Selfridge launched the Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
Collection in which they had worked with Eric Damon, the stylist of the show Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, to create a line of 8 dresses based on the four main female characters.