One of London's most esteemed designers of womenswear is Caroline Charles. She has built up her business over the past forty years and has become a trailblazer in British fashion. Caroline Charles has identified herself as "a child of the 1960s and she certainly seems to have been born at the right time and in the right place. Charles went to a boarding school in Harrogate, England and that is where she claims to have "picked up a survival kit for life." She was taught fashion at the Art School in Swindon and then worked for couturier Michael Sherrard. She then worked at Mary Quant's Shop Bazaar in Knightsbridge. After that, Charles assisted Tony Rawlinson, who was a photographer of fashion, before going back to work to Mary Quant. In 1963, Caroline Charles started her own business and then in 1966, she moved to Beauchamp Place. Later, Charles's clientele flourished, and with careful and reasonable plans, she extended her business from London to the rest of Europe along with America and Japan. http://www.answers.com/topic/caroline-charles

Caroline Charles's first collections were both refreshing and a little "wacko" and even included a white cotton dress that had been made out of a bedspread! Charles was one of the first designers to join what was later to be called British Fashion Week. Her women's clothes were rapidly grabbed up by many celebrities. Caroline Charles has been asked to consult on designs for major textile and accessory companies as well as asked to be a consultant on top brands such as Marks and Spencer and Burberry.http://new.carolinecharles.co.uk/cms/?id=biography.html

Caroline Charles has an eye for lush materials that are commingled with the idea of being easy to wear. Her clothes are created beautifully with simple embellishments that she hopes women might even wear to the grocery store. Some of her famous customers, such as Dame Diana Rigg and Lady Lloyd Webber, have testified to the enchanting quality of her clothing which consists of robust wool paisleys, well-designed brocades and perpetual velvets. In the 1990s, she designed black leather blended with floppy lace skirts that were tamed down to sexy party outfits. Charles is that uncommon commodity who has endured the variations of the fashion business while keeping her own individual identity. She proceeds to produce no-nonsense garments that regular working women and men can wear. Caroline Charles' fashion style is viewed as distinctively British, which makes sense since the late Princess Diana wore her clothes, still her clothing is accessible for casual, but somewhat chic, British customers as well.http://www.answers.com/topic/caroline-charles

Caroline Charles sells her brand through many retail outlets throughout the world, including her own shops, as well as Kingshill's, which is a mail order catalog for which she was one of three original designers. Charles' future plans include exploring development offerings in the Far East and continuing to grow the Caroline Charles company online. She showed her women's wear line at the London Fashion Week on February 19, 2010. http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designer_profile.aspx?DesignerID=64

• 1943 - Born in Cairo, Egypt

• 1960's - Dressed LuLu, Marianne Faithful, Barbara Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Rudololph Nuryev, Madame Pompidou and Queen Muna of Jordan

• -Worked on the Yardley London campaign dressing Jean Shrimpton

• -Collection sold by the trend setting boutiques in Paris and Britain

• -Guest on Juke Box Jury and many other TV shows in the US and the UK

• 1963 - Started own business

• 1966 - Moved to Beauchamp Place

• 1970's- Marketed collection in the Middle East, Europe and the USA

• -First Caroline Charles retail outlet opened in Beauchamp Place, London

• -Joined the committee of the British Colour and Textile Group

• -Designed workerwear for Boots the Chemist, Habitat, Estee Lauder and Jaguar

• -Opened a store in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

• -Travelled extensively as a consultant to tannery and textile companies in Italy and India

• -Took on design consultancy for Marks & Spencer which continued for the next two decades

• 1980's- Designed for British royalty

• 1990's- Opened a store in Japan under license plus wholesale concessions. The British Embassy in Tokyo entertained the Caroline Charles fashion show. Tony Blair paid a visit to the main store for a photo shoot

• -Concessions opened in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols

• -Designed the official scarf to mark the fortieth anniversary of the accession of HM The Queen

• -Dressed Emma Thompson for the Oscars, where she won the award for Best Actress

• -Transformed a 7 storey London house into a new store in Bond Street

• -Expanded with a working woman collection

• -Worked with major Japanese clothing, accessories and textile companies

• -Began a licensing programme, working with Charnos and Aristoc. Undertook a special project with Burberry

• -Diana, Princess of Wales, Jerry Hall and Liza Minelli became clients

• -Launched a bedlinen collection under licence and added other home products

• -Designed a collection of men’s ties, that are now considered collector's items.

• -Moved into 56/57 Beauchamp Place, which is the current corporate headquarters and flagship store

• -Designed collections for BBC Weekend Wardrobe TV series and book

• -Late 1990's- Expanded her brand to home furnishings and accessories

• 2000's- Awarded an OBE for services to the British fashion industry during the company’s 40th year in business. V&A celebration and award from British Fashion Council

• -Opened own shops in Harrogate, Richmond, Wilmslow, Guildford, Tunbridge Wells, Cheltenham and Exeter

• -Expanded concessions in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges

• -The Studio Collection was founded. The collection is invigorated by old fashioned fabrics and is absolutely lavish.http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers/documents/doc_737.pdf