Karen Millen has lost yet another
legal battle, in this case to use her own name on clothing and
household goods in China and the US. In Karen Denise Millen v
Karen Millen Fashions Limited and Others1,
the judge found that the use of Millen's first name in
connection with clothing and accessories would breach the terms of
the agreement she made when she sold her eponymous clothing company
to Baugur in 2004.
Karen Millen was one of the great
British success stories. With a loan of just £100 and 100
metres of cotton cloth, Millen and her partner Kevin Stanford began
making shirts and selling them to friends. They opened their first
store in Maidstone, Kent in 1983 and a decade later had concessions
in Harrods and Fenwick. Karen Millen Limited was incorporated in
1991 and a holding company, KMHL, was set up three years later. By
2004 Karen Millen was a successful global brand with stores or
concessions in nine countries and franchises in a further 15.
