- Lifestyle & Sports
- 31 Oct 18
'It was upsetting, anxiety inducing, tearful… I cried every day for two months. It was painful. Horrible.'
The former Made in Chelsea star launched her self-titled clothing line in 2014, however four years later Millie Mackintosh announced the line was closing due to the "immensely challenging financial climate".
Mackintosh is not the only designer to suffer from the significant drop in the fashion industry. French Connection had doubled its losses by September, but hope for a late surge of sales as Christmas approaches. Irish designer Orla Kiely closed her online and retail business this year. And to everyone's surprise Michael Kors bought Versace during the year for over $2.1 billion.
The influencer told Red magazine of her struggles, "It’s been an up-and-down year. I've had the highest highs and the lowest lows. When the business went under it was upsetting and not just for me." Mackintosh felt as though she was letting everyone around her down, including husband and former Made in Chelsea original cast member Hugo Taylor.
"It was upsetting, anxiety inducing, tearful… I cried every day for two months. It was painful. Horrible," Mackintosh continued. Once her business went into liquidation, her line owed £548,000 and personally costing her £178,000.
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A year ago Millie Mackintosh celebrated her collection as was made available online on ASOS.com and in Arnott's, in Dublin. Some pieces of her line are still available from ASOS, the majority of which are online at present.
Still hopeful for the future, the designer will treat this experience as a lesson learned rather than a failure. Mackintosh currently has a collaborative beauty gifting collection on sale in Boots, which launched in September.