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Cath Kidston

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For the company, see Cath Kidston Limited.
Cath Kidston

MBE
Born
Catherine Isabel Audrey Kidston

(1958-11-06) 6 November 1958 (age 62)
Marylebone, London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation
  • Businesswoman
  • author
OrganisationCath Kidston Limited
Known forFloral prints and patterns
Partner(s)Hugh Padgham
Parent(s)Archibald Martin Kidston
RelativesGlen Kidston (grandfather)
Kirstie Allsopp (cousin)

Catherine Isabel Audrey Kidston MBE (born 6 November 1958) is an English fashion designer, businesswoman and author whose company, Cath Kidston Limited sells home furnishings and related goods online, through franchises and by mail order.[1] She is particularly known for her nostalgic floral patterns[1] and has also published a number of books.[citation needed]

Family background and early life[]

Kidston's paternal grandparents were Glen Kidston, a successful racing driver for Bentley in the 1920s,[2] and Nancy Soames. Nancy is also Samantha Cameron's paternal grandmother, making them half first cousins..[3]

Television presenters Kirstie Allsopp[4][5] and Sofie Allsopp are her maternal second cousins, daughters of Charles Allsopp, 6th Baron Hindlip, the former chairman of Christie's.

Career[]

Kidston opened her first shop in London's Holland Park in 1993,[1] selling hand-embroidered tea-towels and brightly renovated furniture.[citation needed] By the end of 2013, she had 136 outlets, including a flagship store on Piccadilly next to Fortnum & Mason and four stores in China.[6] Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme, Kidston described her shops as provoking a 'Marmite reaction': "People either love it and want a little bit of it very much, or want to stab us."[2] In 2010, she sold a majority stake of the company to private equity investors TA Associates,[7] retaining a minority stake and remaining the company's Creative Director.[7]

Prince George of Cambridge wore one of her outfits, which quickly sold out.[8]

Collaborations[]

Kidston has worked with to design tents (2005–6),[1] Nokia/ Carphone Warehouse mobile phones (2006),[1] and Roberts radios (2005 onwards).[1] In 2008, she collaborated with Tesco to produce shopping bags made from plastic bottles,[1] which were sold to raise almost £500,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care[1] and saved about six million plastic bottles from landfill.[1]

Personal life[]

Kidston's partner is record producer Hugh Padgham.[9] Kidston has two pets, a Sealyham terrier named Billie and a Lakeland terrier named Stanley, who feature in her designs.[10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "About Cath Kidston". Cath Kiston Limited. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Desert Island Discs: Cath Kidston | BBC". BBC. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  3. ^ "Sam Cam's hidden ties to Kidston", The Sunday Times, London, p. News section, page 10, 4 October 2015
  4. ^ Wood, Zoe (9 August 2009). "Queen of florals Cath Kidston bucks the recession to profit from love of nostalgia". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  5. ^ Layton, Josh (7 May 2012). "Stranger relatives: Holly Valance is related to Benny Hill and the celebrities with fame in the family..." Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  6. ^ Garside, Juliette (6 December 2013). "Cath Kidston could fetch up to £250m". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Hall, James (5 December 2010). "Cath Kidston plans Far East push – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "The interior designer Cath Kidston on work, marriage and life after cancer".
  10. ^ "Introducing Billie". Cath Kidston. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Remembering Stanley". Cath Kidston. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
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