Fashion retailer that became ‘cult UK brand’ loved by celebrities to close after 32 years as owners decide to ‘bow out’
Share:
A POPULAR UK fashion brand loved and inspired by celebrities is set to shut up shop for good. The Norfolk brand Old Town has been loved for decades, especially by acclaimed artists, writers and actors. But, after over 30 years, designers Will Brown and Marie Willey have announced the end of Old Town as they both recently turned 68.
![[After 32 years, the Old Town fashion brand is winding down its business]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Capture_d0856a.jpg?strip=all&w=723)
No further orders are being taken as the two designers and their 10 seamstresses wind down the main business. “We’re in our late sixties and the way we’ve micromanaged this business has absolutely worn us out," Willey told the Eastern Daily Press.
![[Old Town’s owners and designers Will Brown (far right) and Marie Willey (next to Brown) announced the end of the business after both turning 68]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/3077d557-fa58-4a2c-b86d-f8e53ecd685a_2f5404.jpg?strip=all&w=932)
The news came as a disappointment to many with the retailer's 200 loyal customers being emailed the details of the closure. Fans include a number of celebrities such as historian and author Tom Holland who has written numerous best-selling books including Rubicon, Persian Fire, and Dominion.
![[David Bowie served as partial inspiration for the brand after Brown designed garments for him in the late 1970s and early '80s]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2597815.main_image.jpg?strip=all&w=790)
Actor Toby Jones from Harry Potter, Mr Bates Vs. The Post Office, and Indiana Jones, musician Billy Childish, and author Rebecca May Johnson. Shakespearean actor Maxine Peake who has featured in numerous films and television shows including Dinnerladies and The Theory of Everything has also been seen sporting the Norfolk brand.
![[Brown and Willey wear their own designs most of the time]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/doors-closing-fashion-retailer-cult-959286947.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
As well as having a current celebrity customer base, David Bowie was an early inspiration for Old Town after Brown designed some garments for the singer in the 1970s and '80s. When the fashion retailer first opened in 1992 it was in Elm Hill. It then moved to Holt in 2000 where it grew into what has been called a "cult British brand" by the EDP.
![[The closure comes after the pair of designers have admitted that they are exhausted (stock)]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pd_GettyImages-1714135975jpg-JS888914774_740ae6.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
