Hobbs unveils latest Historic Royal Palaces line for AW17

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 12, 2017

UK mid-market womenswear brand Hobbs has launched more product in its ongoing deal with Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation that oversees Britons palace such as Hampton Court, for its AW17 collection.

The organisation and the retailer have enjoyed a successful licensing deal for several years under the Palace Collection name and said the new offer comprises a number of pieces inspired by the Crown Jewels, by the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection and by the Baroque part of Hampton Court. The pieces have just dropped in-store.

They include a dress, suit and coat linked to Hampton Court, a jewel dress, jewel skirt, regalia blouse and regalia dress that take their design cues from the Crown Jewels, and the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection is brought into the mix via a royal military sweater, royal military dress, courtiers blouse and courtiers dress.

Emma Saunders, head of retail business development at Historic Royal Palaces, said Hobbs has seen success with the link-up in both the UK and US with strong online sales internationally.

Hobbs CEO Meg Lustman said the heritage link has been key for its US growth with strong sales in Bloomingdale’s and the collection being its leading product line for the opening of its first US store in Connecticut.

The link-up will continue into SS18 with Saunders saying Hobbs will “leverage one of our most exciting conservation projects in recent years, tapping into a theme which will benefit from wide media coverage.”

Earlier this summer, Historic Royal Palaces Licensing Manager Jenny Smyth said that Hobbs is a particularly successful partnership as its customer profile echoes that of the palaces both attracting a lot of ABC1 married women, aged 40 to 60, with interests including museums, galleries, heritage buildings and cultural activities.