House of Holland appoints administrator, new investment sought

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 5, 2020

At the start of this week we heard that Henry Holland was stepping back from the House of Holland label he founded and on Thursday the reason became clear — the company has appointed administrators with KPMG now tasked with finding a buyer.

The East London label was known for its quirky, print and slogan-based pieces, as well as its more affordable work for Debenhams, that latter collaboration having come to an end last year.

It has been seeking new backing following its struggles with “difficult trading pressures”. 

Joint administrator Will Wright, a partner at KPMG, said on Thursday: “House of Holland rose to prominence as a forward-thinking British label, with its signature slogan T-shirts and collaborations with a number of high street brands. However, with apparel experiencing the same difficult trading pressures as others across the UK retail market, the company needed to raise additional investment in order for it to continue.”

He now has to find new backing that could allow the label to continue. For the short term, it will carry on as an online business via the House of Holland site, although it’s unclear how long it can continue if no buyer is found.

Henry Holland, a former fashion editor, rose to fame in the 2000s on the back of his slogan tees modelled by his housemate and future supermodel Agyness Deyn.

It will be interesting to see what the brand might become with Henry Holland no longer involved. At present, it has a wide range of stockist including Net-A-Porter, Asos, Luisaviaroma, Farfetch and Yoox. Its appeal post-Henry Holland is likely to be compromised and it would be a shame to see it merely turning out reworked versions of its biggest hits.