Ashley, Laura

Laura Ashley, née Mountney, (born Sept. 7, 1925, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales—died Sept. 17, 1985, Coventry, Warwickshire, Eng.), British designer known for her traditional, Victorian-style prints on natural fabrics, which she used to create household furnishings, linens, and women’s clothing. By the time of her death there were more than 220 Laura Ashley shops worldwide.

She served in the royal naval services in World War II, married Bernard Ashley in 1949, and in 1953 began her design business in her Pimlico (London) home, using silk screens to create placemats and scarves. She eventually designed dresses, curtains, decorative accessories, wallpaper, and tiles.

The Ashleys moved to Surrey and then, in the late 1950s, to Carno, Wales, site of what became the world headquarters of their expanding operations. Bernard Ashley handled the engineering and financial aspects of the business, and Laura created the designs, noted for their floral, frilly, and lace-covered appearances, suggestive of traditional English country manners and ways. From wholesaling, the couple moved into retailing in 1967, with the opening of their first shop in Kensington, London. This enterprise was followed by the establishment of numerous outlets overseas, including shops in Canada and Australia and later in continental Europe and the United States. As her operation expanded, she became a tax exile, living in Brussels and France.