Browns is a fashion boutique based in London, England. It was founded by Joan Burstein and husband Sidney in 1970. The flagship store was on London's South Molton Street but after 50 years moved to Brook Street in May 2021. In 2015, Browns was acquired by Portuguese online fashion company

Farfetch Farfetch is a British-Portuguese online luxury fashion retail platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques and brands from around the world. The company was founded in 2007 by the Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves with its headquarters ...

History

Joan Burstein founded Browns with her late husband, Sidney, in 1970. Initially a small boutique housed on the ground floor at 27 South Molton Street, Browns grew rapidly expanding through five connecting Georgian townhouses. Their daughter Caroline Burstein founded

Molton Brown Molton Brown is a luxury British fragrance brand known for Eaux de Parfum and Toilette, as well as bath, body, hair, and home collections. Molton Brown started up in 1971 on South Molton Street, London. Since then, they have manufactured all ...

before joining Browns as creative director in 1993. Their son Simon Burstein became CEO. Known for discovering talents such as

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashio ...

Hussein Chalayan Hussein Chalayan, (; tr, Hüseyin Çağlayan ; born 12 August 1970) is a British-Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice (in 1999 and 2000) and was awarded the MBE in 2006. Chalayan is currently teaching a ...

, and

Christopher Kane Christopher John Kane (born 26 July 1982) is a Scottish fashion designer based in London. Biography Kane was born as the youngest of five children in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, to an engineer and draughtsman father and housewife mother. K ...

, it also brought designers such as

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

, Sabine G.,

Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

, Ralph Lauren and

Jil Sander Heidemarie Jiline "Jil" Sander (; b. 27 November 1943) is a German minimalist fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house. Early life and education Heidemarie Jiline Sander was born in Wesselburen, Nazi Germany on 27 Nov ...

to London. Browns has continued to support both young and established fashion designers. In 2006, Joan Burstein (known in the fashion industry as Mrs B) received a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to fashion. Sidney Burnstein died in April 2010. In May 2015, Browns passed from family ownership when it was acquired by the fashion website

. Joan Burnstein stayed on as honorary chair and her son and daughter Simon and Caroline retained seats on the board.

Stores

Browns includes Brownsfashion.com, Browns at 23-27 South Molton Street with Browns Focus at number 24, Browns at 160

Sloane Street Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along. History Sloane Street takes its name from Sir H ...

and bridalwear stores Browns Bride, 12 Hinde Street and

Vera Wang Vera Ellen Wang (; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer. Early life Vera Ellen Wang was born June 27, 1949 in New York City to Chinese parents who emigrated to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu (Wu ...

at Browns, 59 Brook Street. In October 2017, Browns East opened in East London

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browns (fashion boutique) Shops in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Retail companies established in 1970 1970 establishments in England