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Nigella Lawson was among those left horrified when I revealed in June that her favourite fashion label, Bombshell London, had gone bust after 17 years.
Now some of the companies left with unpaid debts have expressed shock and anger.
An administrator’s report shows Bombshell London owes £578,000 to 37 creditors, including HMRC, with unpaid VAT and employee tax of £176,934.
One of the companies that ran out of money is Scottish publisher Peebles Media Group. A spokesman told me: “Bombshell took out advertising knowing she couldn’t afford it. It’s shocking. It’s immoral.”
Referring to Scottish wedding magazine Tie The Knot, the spokesperson continued: “They took page 20 of the April/May issue, and that was one of the invoices that was outstanding.”
Nigella Lawson was among those left horrified when her favourite fashion brand, Bombshell London, went bust.
Nigella’s favourite brand owes £578,000 to 37 creditors including HMRC in unpaid VAT and employee tax
The 1950s-inspired brand was adored by famous women, including Nigella, who once made headlines when she bought 12 dresses from the same range.
Evaldas Sultonas tells me that the debt of almost £5,000 he owes his company, Universal Processing London, has been “disturbing”. He adds that Bombshell’s demise is “sad”.
Staff have also been left without pay. The statement detailing their debts reveals that £10,209 is owed in holiday pay, plus £61,622 owed to four employees. British Gas, Barclays, BT, EDF Energy and Shopify are also among those with debts.
Nigella was so devoted to the brand that she once made headlines when she bought 12 dresses of the same design.
The 1950s-inspired brand, loved by other famous women including Anjelica Huston, Jerry Hall, Ruth Jones, Deborah Meaden, Angela Rippon and former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, went into liquidation after “suffering a decline in its financial performance in recent years”, according to a liquidator’s summary, with Bombshell racking up a £549,000 loss on sales worth £2.1m in the year to February.
Owner and designer Katya Wildman said she was “heartbroken”.
Mamma Mia! Lily is now a folk singer
She demonstrated her impressive vocal abilities in Mamma Mia 2 and could sing in tune better than most men.
Now, Lily James has expanded her musical ambitions by making her music video debut for Australian singer Ben Abraham’s new song, Never Been Better.
Lily James has expanded her musical ambitions by making her music video debut for Australian singer Ben Abraham’s new song, Never Been Better.
The Surrey-born folk singer and actress, 35, can be seen performing the song in the video while sitting on a park bench in Los Angeles.
The folk singer, 39, and the Surrey-born actress, 35, can be seen sitting on a park bench in Los Angeles as they perform the song live in the video, above, which was posted online.
“I can’t believe I managed to convince her to sing with me, but this is my favorite song I’ve ever done,” says Ben.
Lily’s last appearance as a guest vocalist was on Mahi Sona (The Wedding Song), which appears in her 2023 film What’s Love Got To Do With It?.
Blake returns to the foreground
Blake Lively, who appears on the cover of Vogue’s September issue, says she avoided cover shoots for years.
“When social media blew up the way it did, I thought, ‘Well, I can control my own story and I can represent myself better than someone who’s known me for an hour,'” she explains.
Blake Lively, who stars in Vogue’s September issue, says she avoided cover shoots for years
Lively, 36, star of US TV show Gossip Girl, is married to Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds. He is a popular figure in North Wales since becoming part-owner of Wrexham football club.
Ron Burkle is chairman of Soho House, a group of private clubs which has a branch in the Cotswolds, but he is very keen to build his own country house in Oxfordshire. I hear the American billionaire has put forward new plans after his first attempt failed.
An application has been submitted to introduce the project on farmland at Little Tew, near Soho Farmhouse. The plans include details of gardens, a stable yard, solar panels, a new lake and a tree nursery. A previous application was refused in 2022 for failing to meet specific planning criteria.
Is there anything more embarrassing than having your rock star father force you to sing on his latest album? Pink Floyd frontman David Gilmour says his 22-year-old daughter Romany was unimpressed when she was dragged out of her studies to sing on his new single, Between Two Points. “There’s a slightly shy tone to her voice because she didn’t want to do it: ‘Oh God, I’ve got to catch a train home and write an essay.'”
“We forced her to do it before she left. She was angry.” It’s not exactly “we don’t need education,” is it?
Could this be the beginning of the end for alumni journals?
Cambridge University’s Cam magazine is becoming a largely digital publication. Recipients are required to make a special request to continue receiving the (rather slim) publication by post. All of this is being presented, inevitably, as an exercise in greening, but it may have more to do with cost-cutting.
Cambridge authorities may not realise that the main purpose of alumni magazines is not actually to read the damned things, but to leave them lying around the house or office to prove to acquaintances that one has studied at a “real university”. Digital publications are not suitable for this.
Finish off the King’s new ‘portable masterpiece’ for £150
No doubt with his mother in mind, who was rarely seen outdoors without a scarf covering her head, King Charles introduced a range of silk scarves into the shop at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
Priced at £150 each, they are printed with images of her watercolour paintings of places including Highgrove, Windsor Castle and Corfu.
The King has introduced a range of silk scarves at the shop on his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
“Printed on pure mulberry silk twill, this scarf is a testament to quality and craftsmanship,” states Highgrove’s website.
‘Whether worn as a fashion statement or as an artistic accessory, this scarf is not just an item, but a wearable masterpiece that embodies the spirit of Highgrove Gardens.’