Roksanda sold to Damian Hopkins’ The Brand Group, founder to remain at creative helm

One of London Fashion Week’s big-name independent labels, Roksanda, has been sold to brand development platform The Brand Group shortly after filing notice of intent to appoint administrators. It joins the still-new Vivere label as part of Damian Hopkins’ growing empire.

Found by London-based Roksanda Ilinčić in 2005, the label had faced unprecedented tough market conditions but will now have a more stable footing that should allow it to focus on global expansion. Ilinčić remains creative director. 

The company statement about the sale said: “The Brand Group joins us as a valued partner at a time when Roksanda had been exploring new ways of operating in the existing luxury climate. The Brand Group team’s experience and intention to champion British creativity makes them natural partners, and will help Roksanda maintain its position as a British luxury brand, nurture its existing loyal customer base, and support growth via new audiences.”

Roksanda was one of the labels affected by the recent administration of Matches and was owed several thousand pounds by the e-tailer.

So what do we know about the new owner? Well, it’s a business set up by two fashion stalwarts.

Damian Hopkins is an entrepreneur who last year unveiled the Vivere label with Savannah Miller. He set up his first clothing company in the 1990s and was formerly a director of Matalan. He also has strong manufacturing experience and is founder and CEO PDS Radius Brands, the brand management and licensing agency.

His partner in the deal is Sunny Malhotra, who founded Simple Approach, the Hong Kong-based apparel design and sourcing business based in Hong Kong, which is also part of the PDS Group. 

Those manufacturing and sourcing links are key for helping a designer business to scale with such businesses often lacking those fundamentals, despite their undeniable creativity.

Hopkins said he’s long admired Roksanda and looks forward to partnering with the brand for its “next chapter, while celebrating British luxury and supporting the impact that British creativity can have on the global stage”.

Despite the challenges Roksanda has faced, it has been business as usual until relatively recently with the label announcing a major collaboration with FitFlop only in February. The brand also collaborated last year on a premium womenswear offer with Jigsaw.