Pringle designer quits

Yesterday Pringle announced that designer Stuart Stockdale is leaving the company. It revealed that Stockdale, who has been credited with making knits sexy, is leaving to pursue "a new, exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity".

The company regrets his departure. "In four years, he's taken Pringle from a rail of knitwear to a full luxury collection, with over 50 per cent growth in Europe and the UK," said ceo Kim Winser. "He's helped us to do a fantastic job. His enormous dedication and commtiment to our company has been instrumental in enabling us to achieve our status in this sector. We will miss Stuart in the Pringle business and wish him the very best in his new project."

Stockdale joined Pringle in 2001. Since that time, the company has established itself in the UK, Europe and Asia and was beginning to break ground in the US and Russia. The success was spurred on by ad campaigns featuring stars like Sophie Dahl and Heidi Klum.

The designer has not yet revealed what his new project will be but did speak about his time at Pringle. He said his biggest challenge had been to strike a balance between the history of the label and today's fashion. "I had to delve into the history of this company and then make it modern and give it a soul of its own," he explained. "The past four years have been a fantastic and special experience in building a luxury fashion brand. I have enjoyed every moment of my time at Pringle."

The company will announce a replacement for Stockdale "in due course".