SIR BERNARD ASHLEYSir Bernard Ashley, who died on 14 February, 2009, was a British businessman best known for founding a fashionable textiles firm with his wife Laura .The Laura Ashley brand rose from humble beginnings with Laura designing scarves with Victorian-style prints at the couple’s flat in the early 1950s.When Audrey Hepburn wore one of the scarves in her debut film, Roman Holiday, in 1953, demand went through the roof and Mr Ashley gave up his job as a city banker to run the business full time, successfully opening up new avenues of opportunity across the world.By the 1970s the couple had opened shops dedicated to selling Laura’s dresses and furnishings and the Laura Ashley brand was the height of affluent sophistication, not only in the UK, but also in Paris, New York and as far afield as Australia and Japan.It made the Ashleys multi-millionaires, but remained a family business, with the couple’s children taking up roles within the design and marketing arms of the company.It was only after Laura died at the age of 60 in 1985 that the company was floated on the stock market with great success.Sir Bernard was knighted in 1987. Laura had been offered an OBE a decade earlier but turned it down because her husband’s contribution to the business was not similarly recognised.He stepped down as chairman of Laura Ashley in 1993, 40 years after its foundation. But the family retains an interest in the firm and Sir Bernard went on to found a new fabrics firm, Elanbach, with his daughter Emma as creative director.Bernard Albert Ashley was born on 11 August, 1926, and studied engineering before serving with the Royal Fusiliers in the Second World War.After making his fortune he bought several Edwardian mansions and also enjoyed yachting.He died at the age of 82 and was survived by his second wife Regine Burnell, and by two daughters and two sons by Laura.
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