After a City & Guilds course in fashion at Medway College, Karen Millen set up a sewing machine at her parents’ house and started selling clothes at the fashion equivalent of the Tupperware party. That was in 1981. Karen met her partner, Kevin Stanford in Morocco and between them had the perfect blend of ambition, drive and knowledge to set up a successful clothing label.
After a difficult start, where she learnt the pitfalls of manufacturing, Karen opened a first store in Maidstone. She has never looked back since, and today there are more than 150 stores. In 2004 Karen sold her business for £120million and now devotes her time to charitable works.
Karen appears 55th on the City & Guilds vocational rich list with an estimated personal wealth of £40m.
