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Anya Hindmarch
English fashion accessories designer (born 1968) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dame Anya Susannah Hindmarch, DBE (/ˈhaɪndmɑːrtʃ/;[2] born 7 May 1968[3]) is an English fashion accessories designer who founded an eponymous company, of which she is CEO. Hindmarch published her first book, If In Doubt Wash Your Hair in May 2021, a Sunday Times bestseller.[4]
Alongside running her accessories brand, Hindmarch holds several other roles: she is emeritus trustee of both the Royal Academy of Arts[5] and the Design Museum[6] and a trustee of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.[7] In 2019, she became a Greenpeace ambassador.[8] She was appointed a trustee of the Tate in 2022.[9] From September 2023 until August 2024, she was an advisor to the Board of Trade.[10] In November 2024, Hindmarch was announced as an ambassador for University of the Arts London.[11]
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Early life
Hindmarch was born to Michael (a plastics company owner) and Susan (née Cooper) Hindmarch. She attended New Hall School, an independent school in Chelmsford, Essex.[12] In 1986, she went to Florence to study Italian for a year.[13]
Career
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Hindmarch launched her label in 1987, when she was 19, inspired by a drawstring leather duffel bag many fashionable Italian women carried. Although the UK economy was in a recession,[14] she was inspired by Margaret Thatcher's entrepreneurial ideas,[15] Hindmarch borrowed some money to import some bags to England, and sold 500 through the fashion magazine Harpers and Queen.[12][1][13]
She initially had bags manufactured in Italy, but when the factory started selling bags of her design directly to retailers,[16] she started having her own bags made in Hackney.[14] By 1992 her bags were sold at luxury stores in London, New York, Japan, France and Italy.[13]
In 1993, she opened a small retail shop in Walton Street.[12][14] From the beginning, high quality materials and workmanship were central, representing a design philosophy which was, and remains "British, humorous and personalised."[1]
In 2001, Hindmarch launched her "Be A Bag" line, a service by which a bag is personalised with a customer's photograph, initially to support a breast cancer awareness group, but subsequently to benefit other charitable causes.[12]
In 2007, Hindmarch launched a limited-edition tote bag with the words "I'm NOT A Plastic bag", using her influence to make it fashionable not to use plastic bags.[17] The canvas totes sold for £5 and were selected by Vanity Fair to be included in their "Oscars" goodie bags.[18]
In 2008, she launched a limited edition handbag for US retailer Target.[19] In the same year, Hindmarch collaborated with Selfridges to design a collection of Christmas hampers.[20]
In 2009, her company opened a bespoke workshop at its Pont Street store in London. By that time, the company was headquartered in Battersea, in the converted stable block of a former brewery.[21]
In 2013, Hindmarch opened its New York flagship store on Madison Avenue that sold both manufactured and bespoke bags.[22]
In 2021, Hindmarch launched the Village,[23] her brand’s retail development on London’s Pont Street in Chelsea, comprising four permanent stores, the brand's 'Anya Cafe' and a space which hosts rotating concepts including the Ice Cream Project[24] during the summer and Anya's Grotto at Christmastime.[25]
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Business details
In 2006, the company took on outside investors, and was valued at $38 million.[21] By 2009, she had 51 stores worldwide with an estimated sales of £20 million.[14] In 2020, The Daily Telegraph reported that Hindmarch had regained a joint ownership of the company after returning to lead a turnaround.[26]
Awards and honours
- 2006 Glamour magazine Designer of the Year[27]
- 2007 Glamour magazine Designer of the Year[27]
- 2007 Designer brand of the Year at British Fashion Awards (first winner)[28]
- 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award – Elle magazine 2008[29]
- 2009 Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2009 for services to the British fashion industry[30]
- 2009 Bravery in the Face of Adversity Award, Luxury Briefing[31]
- 2009 Named one of 25 most influential people working in fashion industry by BFC[32]
- 2010 Conde Nast Traveller Innovation and Design Award for Bespoke[33]
- 2011 Awarded an honorary doctorate by Anglia Ruskin University[34]
- 2012 Veuve Cliquot businesswoman of the year[35]
- 2014 British Fashion Award for Accessory Designer at the British Fashion Awards[36]
- 2015 Glamour magazine Designer of the Year[27]
- 2015 Beyond the Runway award, Decoded Fashion Futures[37]
- 2016 Elle magazine Accessories Designer of the Year award[38]
- 2016 Walpole award for digital innovation in British Luxury[39]
- 2017 Awarded an Honorary doctorate by Essex University[40]
- 2017 Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to fashion[41]
- 2024 Awarded a Damehood in the King's 2024 Birthday Honours
- 2024 Winner Best Luxury Brand at the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards 2024[42]
- 2024 Winner Best Impact Campaign Country & Townhouse Future Icons Awards 2024[43]
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Previous appointments
Hindmarch was on the Promote London Board for the Mayor of London from 2009 until 2011,[35] a non-executive director from the British Fashion Council from 2010 until 2020,[44] was a UK trade ambassador from 2011 until 2016[45] and a Birthday Honours Committee member from 2013 until 2019.
Personal life
In 1996, she married James Seymour, a widower with three children, a grandson of Sir Horace Seymour, and he joined the company soon after as its finance director.[14][16] They then had two children together.[46]
References
External links
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