Temperley London Founder Steps Down | Alice Temperley Exits

Temperley London Founder Steps Down for New Venture

Temperley London founder Alice Temperley has confirmed she is exiting the label she built 25 years ago. It’s a big moment. Her graduate collection once turned into one of British fashion’s best-known bridal and eveningwear names, and now that chapter is closing.

The brand broke the news on 8 July. True to form, it didn’t say much. It simply confirmed that Alice is stepping away, and that a new leadership team and design director are on the way. Further details, the company said, will follow “in due course.”

A Founder Who Never Let Go of the Reins

For anyone who has followed Temperley London over the years, this exit feels different. Alice wasn’t a hired creative director brought in to steer someone else’s vision. She started the whole thing herself in 2000, fresh out of the Royal College of Art, and she never really let go after that.

Boho silhouettes. Hand-beading. A certain kind of English romanticism, dressed up for red carpets and weddings alike. That was her signature, and it stayed hers through some genuinely rough patches. Brexit hit hard. So did the pandemic, which pushed the brand into administration in 2021. Eventually, a rebuild brought outside money into the picture.

How Times Square Group Changed the Ownership Story

That outside money arrived in November 2023. Dubai’s Times Square Group LLC, through its investment arm Luxutte Capital, picked up a majority stake in the business. Back then, Alice stayed on as creative director, while Luca Donnini ran things as CEO.

The deal came with big ambitions. It was pitched as a way to push the label into bags, shoes, accessories and swimwear, while leaning harder into the Gulf market, where the brand already had a loyal following. But the leadership picture kept shifting. Since March 2025, Sarita Jha has been holding things together as interim CEO, a sign, in hindsight, that change was already brewing behind the scenes.

What Comes Next for Alice Temperley

In her own statement, Alice didn’t dwell on the business side. Instead, she spoke about pride in what she had built, calling Temperley London “the creative home of my life for over two decades.” Now, she’s turning her attention elsewhere.

She’s describing her next step as a new creative practice, an independent venture built around her family, close collaborators, and what she calls the 22 muses who have shaped her design language over the years. So far, there’s no name, no timeline and no further details.

A Brand With Global Ambitions, Still Taking Shape

Meanwhile, the label she’s leaving behind isn’t short on scale. It runs three standalone stores, in London, Somerset and Dubai, plus a concession at Liberty London. It has also pushed into bridal, resale through Temperley Vintage, and even a homeware tie-up with British textiles brand Romo.

One question remains open, though. Whether the Middle East stays the growth story the new owners bet on, especially given regional turbulence this year, is something the brand hasn’t addressed publicly yet.

For now, Temperley London says only that a new leadership team and design director will be named soon. Alice Temperley, MBE, leaves as one of British fashion’s more independent-minded founders. She ran her own label, on her own terms, for the better part of 25 years. And it seems she’s ready to see what she can build next, without a boardroom attached to it.