The revival of Laura Ashley relies on this woman

telegraph.co.uk:

Laura Ashley dresses from the 1970s - and it is perhaps fitting that the sisters were introduced to their late grandmother’s legacy through her clothes alone. “By the time we were around she had died and the company had been sold,” says Lily, 30. “Laura Ashley was just this shop we occasionally walked past on the high street, and we never really had a sense of what it was.

At one stage, I thought it only made lampshades.”By shielding them from their grandmother’s fame, her parents, Nick and Arabella, also shielded them from the more controversial design decisions taken by the new Malaysian owners - decisions that took the brand in a direction that lacked much of the artistic flair that made Laura Ashley so beloved in the first place. “Personally I’m not a fan after it went public, so I’m glad my parents left us to develop our own relationship with her and her brand as it was,” says Lily.They never met their grandmother, who died in 1985, but as a way of knowing her better, these two young women are now reviving her epoch-defining prints and romantic cuts.

This week, Lily, Edie, 26, and their father, Nick, are releasing a collection for Brora - and it is inspired not so much by Laura Ashley the brand as by Laura’s personal wardrobe.The result recalls the best of the 1970s: colourful wool and cashmere jumpers, corduroy print maxi dresses, flared velvet trousers, wide-leg jeans, long-sleeved blouses and print headscarves. “The scarf is based on a silk scarf that belonged to grandmother before she had any money,” says Lily. “She bought it on holiday and used it as a sizing reference when she started her brand.