Item 2019.82 - Meadham Kirchhoff Rubber Drawstring Bag with Tortoise Applique

Edward Meadham (b. 1979) and Benjamin Kirchhoff (b. 1978) founded Meadham Kirchhoff in 2006 as a womenswear brand. They had initially shown a menswear collection in 2005 under the label Benjamin Kirchhoff as part of the inaugural Fashion East MAN show at London Fashion Week. Meadham Kirchhoff had NEWGEN sponsorship for seven seasons up until 2010. In 2010 the label won the Emerging Talent Ready-to-Wear award at the British Fashion Awards and were a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize in 2014. In June 2012, the brand launched their menswear line at London Collections: Men, showing their Spring Summer 2013 collection as part of Fashion East MAN for three seasons. They did not show menswear again until their final runway show in September 2014, which featured both menswear and womenswear. Shortly afterwards they denied press rumours that the company was about to close, but mounting financial debts forced the company to shut down in September 2015. In June 2016, a campaign was launched to raise £15,000 to buy back around fifty items from their archive to be donated to museums.
Sources: British Vogue; Dazed; Drapers; Middle East North Africa Financial Network.