| Established own business, Arabella Pollen, Inc., 1981 ; introduced Pollen B diffusion range, 1992; ceased trading, 1993. Arabella Pollen established a reputation as the bold colourist of British fashion. A self-taught designer who after making clothes for herself and friends was backed to launch her own label by Naim Attallah.She had no formal art school training, but began designing as soon as she left school. In 1984 Arabella was chosen to design the uniforms for Virgin Atlantic. In 1990 Arabella Pollen sold a minority share in her business to Courtaulds Textiles in return for an injection of cash. (An arrangement much envied by Pollen's peers at the time. it ended badly in 1993 when Courtaulds, which had subsequently acquired a bigger stake, pulled out of the deal and the designer was forced to close her business). Having come to prominence in the early 1980s failed to survive the 1990s. |
 "I think modern women are tired of being dictated to by faddish whimsy," Arabella Pollen once informed Vogue. "Fashion should be alive expressing not swamping personality".This pinstripe dress from her Spring/Summer 1993 collection typifies her approach. |