A designer who has dressed Nigella Lawson and Amy Winehouse will shut her shop in Holloway Road after 15 years.
Vivien of Holloway first opened its doors in 2009, but will trade for its final time this weekend as its lease has expired.
The store which has become a celebrity and TV show stylist favourite is known for its vintage-style clothes.
Owner Vivien Wilson told Islington Gazette that although she was sad to have to shut the store, its success has ensured that her childhood dream has been fulfilled.
She said: “When I was a child, I used to play dress shop in my back garden, so I always wanted a shop.
“I said one day I would open a shop and people would come from all over the world to come to it.
“Then I said, I would make the brand so famous that it wouldn’t matter if I had the shop or not. And I’ve done that.”
Celebrities including Nigella Lawson, Amy Winehouse, Alisha Dixon and Paloma Faith have all been dressed by the designer, who will continue to sell her designs online.
Wilson said: “The first celebrity that really had an impact for me was Nigella Lawson.
“I got a call from her assistant saying she’d like some clothes for her holiday, and would I go and give her a fitting.
“I actually had a cold, so I wasn’t going to go. But one of my friends said - you’re mad you have to go.
“She ended up buying six dresses and lots of accessories and she wore some of them on the front cover of The Times magazine and The Radio Times all within a matter of weeks.
“That did really help boost my business at the beginning.”
The designer added that the “sad reality” of Brexit was that exports had become more expensive, and that staff for the Vivien of Holloway shop had become harder to find.
She said: “I’ve been in business for a long time. I started sewing when I was 10, and I started selling when I was 14.
"When I signed the lease, 15 years seemed a long time. But here we are."
Wilson now plans to dedicate more time to creating ballgowns, which she described as another long-standing dream.
She said: “The only ballgown I actually made was for Paloma Faith and she wore it to the opening of a penthouse bar in central London.
“She was named best-dressed in every magazine that week. So, I was very happy with that.”
Vivien of Holloway at 294 Holloway Road shuts for the final time tomorrow evening (June 9).
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