About

FOUNDLING (noun): an infant or baby that has been abandoned by its parents and discovered and cared for by other people

The Designer

I studied Fashion Design at Chelsea College of Art before going on to complete my degree at the University of Westminster. From there I moved into the industry as a design assistant, first for Mulligan and later for Maria Grachvogal, where I had a hand in everything from design and sampling to London Fashion Week and PR.

I later joined Showroom in London, selling designer collections into some of the best stores in the world including Selfridges, Harrods, Barneys and Galeries Lafayette, and eventually ran their PR division. It was there that I learned what buyers really wanted, which gave me the confidence to create my own label, a printed jersey womenswear collection alongside a denim brand that sold across the UK, America and Japan.

For a while I stepped away from fashion to open Aromatica, a luxury beauty shop specialising in natural skincare, makeup and perfume. Design and textiles have always been part of who I am. My family founded one of the largest lace factories in Nottingham, recognised for its contribution to English lace making, and that thread of craftsmanship runs right through everything I do.

Foundling London is the result of wanting to be creative again, and to build something with real meaning behind it.

The Foundling Concept

Foundling London is built on the idea of finding the finest designer fabrics, end of line brocade, jacquard and moiré silk that would otherwise go to waste, and give them a new life as something entirely their own. Each piece is developed with a real focus on design and quality, so it becomes a timeless, limited edition piece.

I have chosen to begin with bags. They have always been my first love, and I wanted to create something a little different from the plain leather styles we all know so well, pieces with real presence for a party, an event or simply a day when you want to feel a bit different. Every bag is handmade in a small factory in Somerset, England by a wonderful team of artisans, with the leather straps individually hand cut and every seam stitched with care.

My first design is called The Dolly, named after my best friend. Going forward, every new style will carry a woman's first name, while each individual combination of fabric, leather and lining will be given its own surname. Once a design has sold out, it will never be made again, so what you find is genuinely one of a kind.

The Inspiration

The name Foundling comes from a visit I made to the Foundling Museum in London some twenty years ago, and it has stayed with me ever since. The museum tells the story of Britain's first orphanage, where mothers who could not keep their babies left them in the hope of a better life. Many left a small token behind, a scrap of fabric, a button, a strip of ribbon, often the only thing of value they had to give. Each child was given a new name and a new beginning.

There is something in that idea of taking what has been overlooked and giving it new purpose that speaks directly to how I design. The moiré silks I use have their own connection to this history too. The technique was at its height in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, around the time the museum first opened its doors, favoured by aristocrats and royals for cloaks and sashes before finding its way into purses, luggage and hat boxes. It is a small nod to a very British kind of luxury.

Anna Taylor, Founder and Designer, Foundling London