Before my friend Louisa, 37, got married last month, she spent months agonising over the perfect wedding dress.
But for her 61-year-old mother, Christine, there were no such qualms. She immediately knew what she’d be wearing: a pink floral dress by The Vampire’s Wife, whose €1,431.95 price tag only added to its air of exclusivity and allure.
Whether they are 61 or 16, women adore The Vampire’s Wife. At weddings, parties and milestone birthdays, it would be rare not to spot a Falconetti, the brand’s most popular style, with its three-quarter length sleeves and ruffled trim.
Since its launch in 2017, the dress has been remade in a dizzying array of fabrics, colours and prints. Rachel Weisz wore a pale blue floral version for a recent publicity tour.
Jennifer Aniston and Keira Knightley both have it in black, while so enamoured is Kate Middleton with the brand that she has the Light Sleeper style in shocking pink and the Falconetti in metallic green. (She even chose to have her portrait painted in it.)
All of which makes The Vampire’s Wife’s current financial troubles even more surprising. Most fashion retailers would agree that nobody shifts stock like Kate Middleton, yet the brand still finds itself facing liquidation due to debts.
On June 30, a petition to wind up the company was presented by Britain’s revenue commission as the result of an unpaid tax bill, plunging its future into uncertainty.
According to founder and designer Susie Cave, whose husband is the musician Nick Cave, the petition was issued without warning after a delayed payment earlier this year, with Britain’s revenue commission rejecting the company’s request to pay its debt in monthly instalments. Like many brands, The Vampire’s Wife was affected badly by the pandemic,…
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