Report: L'Wren Scott Was Closing Her Business This Week

Cathy Horyn writes a moving tribute about her friend and recently deceased designer L’Wren Scott, which includes the tidbit that she was planning on closing her label soon, with an announcement this week.

In fact Scott’s business had been struggling since its inception, as is the case with most fledgling fashion houses. Horyn saw this firsthand:

Like many small designers, she had problems managing her business: cash flow, finding the right managers, getting her goods out of Italian factories on schedule. Two years ago, our friendship was tested when, after hearing her troubles, I told her she should give herself a time limit to resolve matters or get out. Putting her health in jeopardy because of stress was not worth it, I told her.

Yet in a testament to her determination, she didn’t give up, even after Horyn warned her against putting her health in danger for the label:

She didn’t like the advice. And true to form, she dug in. She got her house in order and struck a number of deals, including one last year with Banana Republic, that gave her new exposure. In late November, after a week or so with Mick in Natchez, Miss., where he is producing a James Brown biopic, she sent a text from London that said, in part, “mad day fitting AMAZING things!!”

However, as Jezebel posted yesterday, the new ventures weren’t enough, and Scott was $7 million in debt at the time of her death. This shouldn’t discount her accomplishments however; influential celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker regularly wore her designs, and if you take Horyn’s word for it, you’ll see that L’Wren Scott was a lovely person.