The retailer closed all of its 60 UK stores in April, after administrators failed to find a buyer, and has been restructured to operate as a digital-first retailer, with e-commerce now accounting for 85 percent of its sales. On Monday a new batch of products inspired by JK Rowling's boy wizard hit store shelves and online in the firm's second Harry Potter x Cath Kidston collab with bags, clothing, tea towels, kitchenware and more all available. Despite these changes, Cath Kidston became one of the latest retailers to feel the impact of the Covid-19 crisis after it filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators earlier this month.

We are constantly looking at how we can develop, innovate and keep the brand relevant, obviously making sure that we’re keeping the brand DNA alive,” Cath Kidston head of communications Xenia Xenophontos who has since left the business, told Retail Gazette last year. We’ve got all our prototypes, we’re working on how the print would fit onto a bag, or how that tablecloth works on a variety of different tables.

For us, we’re design lead, but rather than looking at trends and making sure we follow them, I think that our trend is integral to us and is in the marketplace, which is craftsmanship and hand painting.

Ideal Home Range IZIPIZI Jellycat Soft Toys Jomafe Joules Judge Kilner Kitchen Aid Kitchen Craft L'Occitane Laura Ashley LEGO Once I got a flat in Hammersmith, I really began collecting. I started off with a load of old ’50s flower prints and sets of topographical garden views. I remember framing them. I’ve always been interested in the frame and the picture together: the combination.” Its products were also commonly sold in department stores, which themselves have been struggling in recent times. Cath Kidston opened its second store in London’s Chelsea. The retailer published its first design book entitled Vintage Style. Her choices are instinctive rather than programmatic. She is not the kind of collector who selects an area – Expressionist woodcuts, say – and systematically explores it. On the contrary: “Although over the years I’ve come to recognise certain artists, on the whole I don’t buy for an artist’s name. It’s actually a matter of falling in love with a picture, buying on impulse,” she declares.

Collections were launched as seasonal. Cath Kidtson opens first flagship store in London’s Marylebone. Collaborations are integral to our overall growth strategy in terms of innovating the brand, keeping it fresh, attracting new customers, as I said we do have a very loyal fan base, but naturally we want to keep that fan base growing and attract new and young customers,” she said. Cath Kidston reopened its London flagship store in early December. That sense of old juxtaposed with new is evidently something she enjoys. Another quality Kidston emphasises is visual punch: “clean, strong pieces of art work”, which is why she is drawn to printmaking media. “What I like about prints is that there’s often a crispness. The older I get the more I appreciate more graphic things. That’s where it’s coming from. I am a floral person, but I like very graphic flowers.” Piccadilly will be open from 10am-8pm Monday-Saturday and 12pm-6pm on Sunday. The store has also been made Covid-19 secure and is operating a one-way system and has hand sanitisation stations in-store to ensure customer safety while shopping.

Even 20 years into my career, I still hand paint and it’s something I will continue to do at Cath Kidston, which I think is what makes us personal. It placed administrators from Alvarez & Marsal on standby to undertake an urgent review of the retailer’s strategic options, which announced it was racing to find a new buyer two weeks prior.

As creative director, Marler brainstorms ideas for new brand collaborations and how to communicate them to consumers.

We would print rolls and rolls of fabric that we had created, vignettes, storytelling all night, and beautiful flowers going from small to large. The reopening of its flagship store in the heart of London’s West End will be the brand’s only high street store and will become an “experimental” concept to showcase the brand’s 27 years of British design and print heritage. Piccadilly will also focus on beauty and wellness, as well as home entertaining, and have a bespoke haberdashery that offers home décor options and fabric by the metre, as well as a Christmas gift emporium. Cath Kidston reopens 180 Piccadilly flagship Marler also joined Temperely London, where she worked with founder Alice Temperely as her “right-hand woman”, helping extend the brand’s collection into bridal and eveningwear. If it’s one thing that Cath Kidston is known for other than its unique prints, it’s the frequent collaborations. Past partnerships include an exclusive one with Disney, along with Snoopy, Mr Men Little Miss, and Fearne Cotton.Kidston received an MBE for her services to business. She sold a majority stake of the company to US private equity investors TA Associates, retaining a minority stake and remaining as the company’s creative director. Cath Kidston had over 100 international stores by this point. Kidston stepped down from her role as chief creative designer, but remained a shareholder of the brand, with more than a 10 per cent stake. Baring Private Equity Asia became a substantial shareholder in Cath Kidston. Fully recyclable print fabrics are Summer Birds, Endless Love Blue and Pink, Painted Kingdom, Patchwork and Love Letter. It can’t be said that the coronavirus outbreak has vastly contributed to the downfall of the brand, but it certainly wouldn’t have helped. Marler added that Cath Kidston has also witnessed new trends in response to Covid-19, such as an increase in the sale of homeware products.