Born: Reigate, England, 1946
‘Quality is like coffee. Once you’ve tried the real thing, you can’t go back to instant,’ said Margaret Howell. Quality is the cornerstone of her business and her collections always centre on the eternals: white shirt, trenchcoat and classic trousers. She is one of the few female designers with flair for designing both mens- and womenswear, and she also designs household, gardening and children’s merchandise.
Howell studied fine art at Goldsmith’s College, University of London, and began designing accessories. She developed her first clothing collection in 1970 and opened her flagship shop during the 1980s. Howell was nominated Designer of the Year by Vogue’s editor Grace Coddington. Her clothes are displayed in the Costume Museum in Bath and in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
