The Vampire’s Wife has announced it has ceased trading ‘with immediate effect’ after a decade in business.
The label, beloved by celebrities and royalty alike, announced today that it has ‘sadly made the decision to cease trading with immediate effect’ following an ‘upheaval in the wholesale market’.
Heartbroken fans will however be given one final opportunity to purchase items from the brand, with a physical sale taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Music Room in Mayfair.
The brand was founded in 2014 by Susie Cave – the 80s it-girl and wife of singer Nick Cave – who broke the news on social media, saying with ‘great sadness’ that after 10 years of business ‘it is time for me to say goodbye.’
Susie’s glitzy dresses are regularly worn by the likes of Kate and Princess Beatrice, as well as celebrity royalty such as Cate Blanchett, Sienna Miller and Kylie Minogue.
The Princess of Wales, wearing a dress by The Vampire’s Wife, at a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Ireland Robin Barnett at the Guinness Storehouse’s Gravity Bar in 2020
British rock star Florence Welch (pictured in one of the dresses in 2017) was one of the leading faces behind The Vampire’s Wife when it first emerged
The Vampire’s Wife was founded by Susie Cave in 2014, and takes its name from an unfinished novel by Susie’s husband Nick Cave (the couple pictured together)
The shocking news was announced on The Vampire’s Wife website today. The statement read: Despite a period of positive growth and sales, the upheaval in the wholesale market has had dramatic implications for the brand.
‘There will be a final, physical sale, allowing fans of the brand one last opportunity to buy on the 24th, 25th and 26th of May at the Music Room, Mayfair, London, W1J 5KF.
‘The Vampire’s Wife would like to express their heartfelt thanks to all clients, partners and those who have worn the brand these last ten years. Your support has been invaluable and we are deeply grateful.’
The announcement comes over a year after the company revealed it was facing liquidation over an unpaid tax bill.
The Vampire’s Wife had been handed a ‘winding-up petition’, which would allow the courts to close the firm for failing to settle its outstanding debts.
The company’s debt was understood to have grown during the pandemic when shoppers saved cash and were less likely to splash out on sparkly dresses and going-out skirts.
The firm said the petition came ‘without prior warning’ and that HMRC had rejected requests to arrange a payment plan to repay the outstanding debt.
Supermodel Kate Moss (pictured in The Vampire’s Wife dress in 2016) was also an early fan of the brand often seen wearing Susie Cave’s designs before it soared in popularity
Princess Beatrice, 34, steps out in Mayfair with her husband, Edo Mapelli Mozzi, while wearing The Vampire’s Wife
The Princess of Wales opted for a gown from The Vampire’s Wife during a visit to Belize on her royal tour of the Caribbean in 2022
Singer Katie Melua wearing a gold The Vampire’s Wife dress at the Golden Camera Awards in Berlin in 2019
Socialite Tamara Beckwith sports a dress from The Vampire’s Wife
The Vampire’s Wife was set up by Susie and her friend Alex Adamson in 2014, a year before the couple’s 15-year-old son Arthur died in July 2015.
After the horrendous tragedy Susie told her husband ‘everything is over’, believing she was unable to carry on with her brand after becoming bedridden with grief.
Losing her son left Susie utterly bereft. In 2018, she told the Mail: ‘I struggle with certain things that have happened in my life and sometimes can be in quite a dark place.
‘I get lost when I’m designing. Time just flies by. It’s actually an absolute gift, because the worst thing happened to me. I channel any positive energy I can into creating clothes.’
The family found themselves wading through a ‘treacle of grief’ (to use Nick’s eloquent expression), unable to comprehend the enormity of the loss.
‘He was a bright, shiny, funny, complex boy and we loved him deeply,’ they said at the time.
Understandably, the fashion brand fell by the wayside in the aftermath of her son’s death. ‘The week after Arthur died, I was in bed,’ she explains. ‘I said: ‘Nick, I can’t do this. The Vampire’s Wife is over. Everything is over.’ ‘
As more and more A-listers stepped out in the luxury brand including Hilary Duff (pictured) it developed a cult following
Pictured: Rachel Weisz wearing a black metallic gown to the 71st BAFTA Awards in 2018
Sandra Oh wearing an outfit designed by The Vampire’s Wife during the 19th Annual Unforgettable Gala Asian American Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2021
Actress Caitriona Balfe wearing The Vampire’s Wife at the 22nd British Independent Film Awards in Old Billingsgate, central London, in 2019
Naomi Watts wearing The Vampire’s Wife at the 8th Annual Australians in Film Awards Gala in 2019
Unable to work, leave the house or face seeing anyone, Susie retreated. Photographs from Arthur’s inquest show her hiding her face behind a curtain of raven-black hair, shoulders shuddering as she clung to Nick for support.
And then, three months later, came a phone call. ‘I got a call from Daisy Lowe — the model daughter of Pearl Lowe and a family friend — saying she needed a dress for an awards ceremony and would I make one for her?
‘So I dragged myself into the office to find the red fabric. And she wore it. And I saw it photographed. That was kind of a breakthrough.
‘From then on I went to work every day.
‘Having something to do which was physically demanding enabled me temporarily not to think of anything else.’
It was then orders started flooded in from high-profile clients: model Alexa Chung; actress Elisabeth Moss; singer Florence Welch.
Styles — ranging from £970 velvet dresses to £1,595 glittery party frocks — started selling out. Little by little, Susie stitched herself back together.
‘When Arthur died, I didn’t think I could carry on,’ she said. ‘When you lose a child, nothing will take away the pain, not ever.
‘But I did realise if I could focus on something outside of what had happened, that if I could separate myself somehow from it all, even for a few seconds, and start creating things in those moments of escapism, then that might be an important thing.’
Kylie Minogue wore a glitzy dress from the fashion designer when performing on stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2019
Robbie Williams’ wife Adya Williams wears a design byuCave in 2019
Terri Seymour from America’s Got Talent in 2020 wearing The Vampire’s Wife
Courtney Love wearing The Vampire’s Wife at the 2020 BAFTAs Dinner
The collection, called Vampire’s House, ranges from a £135 silk pouch to the £595 jewellery box.
Three guests wore Vampire’s Wife garments at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding, and the label is often spotted at red carpet events.
The Princess of Wales first stepped out in The Vampire’s Wife in 2021, when she donned a £1,595 emerald gown as she joined Prince William for an evening reception at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
The ensemble closely resembled the green dress by the same designer that Princess Beatrice wore to Ellie Goulding’s wedding the previous autumn.
Mother-of-one Beatrice wore a £1,695 ‘The Veneration’ tiered silk-blend lamé dress by The Vampire’s Wife to the singer’s nuptials at York Minster Cathedral.
Princess Kate, 41, also opted for a metallic gown from the brand in pink during her royal tour of the Caribbean in 2021 with the Prince of Wales, during a reception held by the governor of Belize.
As more and more celebrities began stepping out in the brand’s gowns, including Rachel Weisz, Hilary Duff and Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, it developed a cult following among A-Listers.