Fabulous BRITISH FLORALS

A hundred years after designer Laura Ashley was born, we celebrate Britain's world- influencing love affair with flowery fabrics

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In 1953, at a kitchen table in Pimlico, Laura Ashley and her husband Bernard started hand-printing fabric, inspired by the historic Victorian textiles in the V&A. Their first creations - tea towels, headscarves, napkins and table mats - were practical yet pretty, and found favour.

The look tapped into a long, uniquely British heritage of florals, from William Morris to Liberty of London, reimagining them for a postwar audience hungry for tradition. By 1968, they'd opened a store in South Kensington, selling Victorian-style dresses - a 'wholesome' alternative to the hot pants and miniskirts of the Swinging Sixties.

In the 1970s and 80s, Laura Ashley was everywhere. Loved by Sloane Rangers and adored by a young Princess Diana, Laura's classically British style was being sold in 220 stores worldwide. Her untimely death in 1985, aged just 60, came as the brand prepared for stock market flotation.