'A Margaret Howell in every wardrobe': British brand sets its sights on Korea

"If I had to sum up Margaret Howell in one word, it would be 'authenticity.' A good piece of clothing should be beautiful in its own right while blending naturally into the life of the person wearing it."

In a fashion industry defined by rapid change, one brand has staked its identity on values that do not change. That brand is Margaret Howell. Caroline Atwood, its managing director, offered that one-word description when she sat down for an interview Thursday morning at a Margaret Howell pop-up store in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Margaret Howell is widely regarded as a standard-bearer of "quiet luxury" — competing on fabric and craftsmanship rather than conspicuous logos. That philosophy has held for more than 50 years since designer Margaret Howell founded the brand in 1970, and it did not waver even after TSI Holdings of Japan acquired a significant stake in 1990. The brand has focused on making clothes that last rather than chasing trends, which is precisely why Atwood reaches for "authenticity" to describe it.

Atwood joined Margaret Howell in November 2023, bringing more than 30 years of experience at fashion brands including Mulberry and Anya Hindmarch. She now leads the brand drawing on that background in design and retail.

The value she prizes most at Margaret Howell is product quality, and she traces everything back to materials. "You need good materials to make a good product," she said. "It is also important to collaborate over a long time with experts across different fields." Just as building with Lego requires the right basic bricks, she explained, making clothes requires a foundation of quality fabric.

Margaret Howell has in fact maintained manufacturing partnerships spanning decades. Atwood singled out Fox Brothers, a British textile mill the brand has worked with for 40 years, as its most important supplier. The woolen industry fell into decline when polyester emerged in the 1960s, but Fox Brothers has kept its looms running. Its ability to weave fine yarn into tightly constructed, high-quality cloth underpins the brand's standards.

"Margaret Howell has a history built up through an archive of around 3,000 pieces," Atwood said. "At a time when many fashion brands feel artificial and contrived, a realistic and authentic history will help the brand continue to make its presence felt."

That insistence on materials is also evident in how the brand makes its signature shirts. Margaret Howell operates a dedicated workroom in Britain where every shirt is made by hand, from cutting to finishing. The workroom produces around 4,000 shirts a year.

In Atwood's view, a good piece of clothing should never upstage the person wearing it. Rather than overwhelming the wearer, it should blend naturally with their personality. Margaret Howell's goal is to create clothes with clean, restrained designs that work with a wide range of other pieces and remain something people reach for year after year.

Finding a path forward while preserving the brand's core values is one of Atwood's central challenges. After joining, her first move was to listen to employees and take stock of the brand's strengths and areas for improvement. She approached change by drawing on more than three decades of industry experience, but always starting from a place of respect for the values and history the brand has built over time.

Communication — and above all, listening — is what Atwood says guides her as she shapes the brand's direction. "Margaret Howell has many employees who have been with the brand for 10 to 30 years," she said. "We find the way forward by adding new ideas to the know-how they have accumulated."

In the Korean market, Atwood has made communicating the brand's identity her top priority. Margaret Howell last month signed an exclusive retail partnership with Beaker, the multi-brand store platform of Samsung C&T's fashion division, to formally launch in South Korea. It opened a store at the main branch of Shinsegae department store last month and aims to expand to three locations by year-end — a notably fast pace compared with the seven stores it operates across Britain. A pop-up in Jongno is part of the same effort to introduce the brand's history and story to Korean consumers.

Atwood is optimistic about the brand's growth potential here. "Korean consumers have a deep appreciation for new ideas and British heritage," she said. "Rather than simply growing our customer numbers, we want people who recognize the quality of our products to go further — to understand and connect with the philosophy and lifestyle that Margaret Howell stands for, and to become genuine fans."

The brand is also in discussions about developing products tailored to Korean consumers' lifestyles. Atwood and Samsung C&T are reviewing outerwear options that account for Korea's colder winters compared with Britain. The focus is not simply on making heavier garments but on reflecting Korea's climate within Margaret Howell's own design language and quality standards. The plan is to combine the brand's values with Samsung C&T's experience managing labels in the Korean market to broaden the brand's reach with local consumers.

The Margaret Howell that Atwood envisions five years from now is one that has found a place in more people's wardrobes — a brand people naturally think of when they want a great shirt, and one that sits effortlessly alongside the clothes they already own.