Henrietta Ludgate

Scottish luxury womenswear label, Henrietta Ludgate, has already garnered an impressive number of awards from highly respected institutions and built a formidable reputation amongst high end retailers. Designed by rising Scottish talent Henrietta Mackay-Ludgate, a graduate of Central St. Martins School of Art, who began her fashion career working as a stylist and costume designer which led to running the design studio of acclaimed British talent Osman Yousefzada.

On launching her own label, Henrietta's priority was to imbue her stunning sculptural designs with a distinctive sense of her Scottish heritage. Whether through the fabrics, cuts or colours this idea of work inspired by her unique Highland background which runs through all of her designs. An ethos of supporting British craftsmanship is central to her work, with fabrics sourced from within the British Isles and all pieces produced locally. Henrietta continues to work from her design studio in the Scottish highlands, which runs in conjunction with the London showroom. A champion of slow fashion, Henrietta's minimalist silhouette remains hauntingly elegant and distinctive while at the same time retaining an undeniable modernity.

Henrietta was awarded the Ethical Fashion Forum's 'Fashion Innovation Award', for London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2010. The award was judged by leading industry experts Roland Mouret, Dolly Jones, Dylis Wiliams, Yasmin Sewell and Anna Orsini. To complement the collection Henrietta also created a short film that was screened during London Fashion Week. Following on from this successful first season in London, Henrietta Ludgate opened their first showroom in London's Covent Garden in October 2009. Since then Henrietta has split her time between overseeing the burgeoning success of the brand in London and designing the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection in her Highland studio.

Drawing on the darker side of the Scottish landscape that inspires her, the collection includes elements of Celtic folklore interpreted in her signature minimalist and flattering cuts worked in thick, luxurious English cashmere, Scottish wools and Yorkshire wool jersey. The collection has already won critical appraise and seen Henrietta Ludgate nominated for Young Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards and the British Council's Young Creative Fashion Entrepeneur of the Year Award.