Karen Millen OBE

An extremely successful fashion designer who graduated from UCA with a BA in Fashion and also received an Honorary Fellowship in 2002.

Karen set up her fashion label in 1981 with her then partner Kevin Stanford. With a loan of just £100 they bought 100 metres of white cotton and began manufacturing and selling white shirts to their friends. They opened their first store in Kent in 1983. The brand continued to expand throughout the nineties until 2004 when it was sold.

Since selling her business, Karen has been involved in a number of other projects including work with charities.

With Sheelagh Wright, Fashion Management course leader at UCA, Karen has worked with charity HOPEHIV to open the Gateway School of Fashion in South Africa. She is also working with Teens Unite which aims to improve the lives of young adults between 13 and 24 who have life-limiting illnesses.

In 2008 Karen was awarded an OBE.