Laura Ashley to relaunch fashion division in partnership with IMG

British heritage brand Laura Ashley is set to make its return to fashion as its owner, Gordon Brothers, established a new multi-year partnership with IMG.

The deal will see IMG select licensing and retail partnerships to ultimately create new Laura Ashley apparel, footwear, accessories, homeware and hospitality offerings.

The brand’s product lines will be expanded into Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, India and the Middle East.

In a release, president of brands at Gordon Brothers, Tobias Nanda, said: “We are delighted to partner with IMG to continue to expand Laura Ashley following the success of its spring homeware collection and fall fashion collaboration last year.

“Our focus in working with IMG will be to select additional strategic partnerships and collaborations to help bring the brand’s distinct aesthetics to consumers globally while continuing to develop our current brand partnerships.”

Expanded product offerings and licensee presence

US-based Gordon Brothers acquired the historic brand in April 2020, bringing it out of administration with the intent to build up its global e-commerce, wholesale and licensee presence.

Following the acquisition, the advisory firm has already established a number of partnerships for the brand and reintroduced it to the market through a deal with Next Plc, for which Laura Ashley launched a spring homeware collection.

The decades-old label also recently dipped its toes into fashion with the unveiling of an autumn fashion collaboration with Batsheva towards the end of 2021. Meanwhile, it continues to develop brand partnerships in Korea, Japan and the US.