PrettyLittleThing is a UK-based

fast-fashion Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry's business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail stores quickly, while demand is at its ...

retailer, aimed at 16-24-year-old women. The company is owned by

Boohoo Group Boohoo Group plc is a British online fashion retailer, aimed at 16–30 year olds. The business was founded in 2006, and had sales in 2019 of £856.9 million. It specialises in own brand fashion clothing, with over 36,000 products. Growing rapid ...

and operates in the UK, Ireland, Australia, US, France, Middle East and North Africa. The brand's main headquarters are in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, with offices in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Paris and Los Angeles.

History

PrettyLittleThing was co-founded in 2012 by

Umar Kamani Umar Kamani (born 21 March 1988) is an English fashion retailer and businessman. At 24, Kamani and his brother Adam co-founded a fashion firm and online retail company selling clothing, accessories and other items to women mainly aged between 12 ...

and his brother

Adam Kamani Adam Kamani (born June 1989) is a British businessman. He is chief executive of the Kamani Property Group and KM Capital, and co-founder of PrettyLittleThing. Kamani grew up in Chorlton. Kamani's grandfather, Abdullah Kamani, left Kenya in the ...

. It started with an accessory only brand with limited products on the site. Since then the company has expanded and now operates internationally, including the US, Irish, Australian, Middle East, French and Canadian markets. The company sells Womenswear, footwear, accessories and beauty products. Celebrities including

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

, Michelle Keegan, Rita Ora,

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

were seen wearing their products. In February 2017, the company reported sales of £47.7m. In September 2015, it launched its mobile application in the UK market. In 2016, the brand partnered with ASOS and Lipsy on their website, as well as through the retailer Next. PrettyLittleThing was owned by the Kamani brothers until January 2017, before being acquired by their father

Mahmud Kamani Mahmud Abdullah Kamani (born August 1964) is a British billionaire businessman. He is co-founder and executive chairman of Boohoo Group. Early life His father Abdullah Kamani is from Gujarat, India; settled in Kenya, but left in the 1960s due to ...

's company Boohoo. It acquired 66% stake in the PrettyLittleThing. In June 2017, PrettyLittleThing launched a range, PLT Girl for young girls aged 5–12. In November 2017, the firm drew press attention when it was named one of the top three fastest growing fashion companies by Hitwise. In February 2019, the brand opened their LA office on Melrose Avenue. In 2020 Boohoo acquired the remainder of PrettyLittleThing. In March 2020, the brand opened their Paris showroom with a collaboration with the French YouTuber Sananas. In June 2020, PrettyLittleThing launched their Middle Eastern website.

Collaborations

In October and November 2015, PrettyLittleThing launched collections with reality actress

Lucy Mecklenburgh Lucy Mecklenburgh (born 24 August 1991) is an English television personality and model known for her appearances in the ITV2 reality series ''The Only Way Is Essex'' from 2010 to 2013. She later appeared in '' Tumble'' and '' Tour de Celeb''. ...

. They collaborated with American reality television personality

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and is the founder and owner of ...

, who hosted a launch party in Los Angeles. In October 2016, PrettyLittleThing launched their party wear collection with

Sofia Richie Sofia Richie (born August 24, 1998) is an American social media personality, model, and fashion designer. She has been featured in campaigns by a number of major brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, and Adidas. She is the youngest dau ...

. They signed LA influencer Chantel Jeffries as their brand ambassador. In August 2017, the online retailer launched a collection with American personality Olivia Culpo. In October 2017, PrettyLittleThing launched a collection with American reality television personality and businesswoman

Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Mary Kardashian (born April 18, 1979) is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success led to the creation of ...

. In May 2018, the brand announced a collaboration with streetwear label

Karl Kani Karl Kani (; born Carl Williams on May 23, 1968 in Limon, Costa Rica) is an American fashion designer, founder and CEO of the hip hop fashion brand Karl Kani. He comes from a modest family from Brooklyn, New York. When he was young, he dreame ...

with a collection fronted by Teyana Taylor. In June 2018, the brand launched a collaboration with British television and radio presenter

Maya Jama Maya Indea Jama (, ; born 14 August 1994) is an English television, radio presenter, and DJ. She co-presented BBC One's '' Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer'' alongside Peter Crouch and Alex Horne and is presenter of the BBC Three competition '' Gl ...

In September 2018, PrettyLittleThing teamed up with American model Ashley Graham to launch a collection for sizes 6–28. In November 2018, the brand launched a collection with

Hailey Baldwin Hailey Rhode Bieber (; born November 22, 1996) is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She has been featured in major ads for Guess, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger. Early life and family Hailey Rhode Baldwin was born in Tu ...

as the face of their Christmas campaign. In February 2019, the brand launched a second collection with American model Ashley Graham. In June 2019, PrettyLittleThing launched a summer collaboration with American singer, songwriter, record producer Ashanti. 2019 also saw the brand launch second collections with

and

. In September 2019 PrettyLittleThing launched a collaboration with UK Love Island star

Molly-Mae Hague Molly-Mae Hague (born 26 May 1999) is an English social media influencer who was a runner-up in the fifth series of reality dating show ''Love Island''. She currently serves as a brand ambassador for PrettyLittleThing. Early life Hague was b ...

. PrettyLittleThing hosted their first catwalk in New York Fashion Week, releasing their collaboration with Saweetie. In November 2019, they launched a collection with British girl group

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

. PrettyLittleThing launched a collection in June 2020 with proceeds donated to The Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaP Co), a Black trans-led organisation aimed at transforming material realities for Black transgender people. June 2020 also saw the launch of a second collaboration with Saweetie, with all proceeds going to

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

. In September 2020 PrettyLittleThing launched their second collaboration with UK Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague. October 2020 saw the brand team up and collaborate with entrepreneur Jordyn Woods. In November 2020, PrettyLittleThing released their collaboration with Lil Kim. November also saw the brand launch their homeware collection with PLT Home. In December 2020, Teyana Taylor was announced as Creative Director. January 2021, saw the launch of PrettyLittleThing x Teyana Taylor. In August 2021, they announced Molly-Mae Hague as their new Creative Director. In 2022, PrettyLittleThing launched its marketplace which allows customers to re-sell their old clothes.

Controversy

On November 26, 2021, PrettyLittleThing launched 'Pink Friday' (which was a play on Black Friday), where the fast-fashion brand discounted merchandise up to 100% off. This sale caused a controversy with many sustainable shoppers and activists, who pointed out the poor wages of workers and large amounts of waste that PrettyLittleThing contributes to landfills in Africa. This resulted in the critics who questioned the brand's actions over social media being blocked by Umar Kamani.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.prettylittlething.com/ Companies based in Manchester Kamani family Retail companies established in 2012 Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom