Cornelia James (company)

Cornelia James is a firm of British glovemakers, founded in 1946, and with a Royal Warrant since 1979. The company has been managed by Genevieve James Lawson, daughter of the late Cornelia James, since 1999. [1][2]

Cornelia James
IndustryClothing retailer
Founded1946
HeadquartersLondon
Key people
Cornelia James (Founder)
Genevieve James Lawson (Director)
ProductsGloves
Websitewww.corneliajames.com

History
See also: Cornelia James (glovemaker)

Cornelia Katz was born in Vienna in 1917, and left in 1939 via Paris to London to try to get a United States visa, but met Jack James and married him six weeks later in 1940.[3] She was a Jewish refugee and set up business in London in 1946 making gloves. In 1947, Norman Hartnell asked her to make the "going-away" gloves for The Princess Elizabeth after her marriage to Prince Philip.[4]

In the 1950s, the company had 250 employees in a former dairy in Brighton.[5] Cornelia James died in 1999, at the age of 82. [6]

Activities

Cornelia James has been Royal Warrant holders since 1979, and is now based in Lewes, Sussex.[7]

The company is now run by her daughter, Genevieve James Lawson, who's also the brand's creative director.[8] The company's range of products includes cotton gloves, merino wool gloves, leather gloves, opera gloves, and skii mitts.[5] Notable clients have included the Queen, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Kate Moss and Madonna.[4][2][1][9][10] Japan is the company's best customer.[5] They also have provided gloves for numerous entertainment productions, including The Crown, Downton Abbey and Mamma Mia.[2] In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the company partnered with HeiQ Materials AG to create "silver based anti viral technology", which is applied to the fabric of their gloves as an antimicrobial protection.[11]

References
  1. Hamilton, Sophie (3 March 2020). "The Queen's glove maker reveals surprising detail you never knew". HELLO!. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. "Royal glove-maker: 'Those gloves will take a beating'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. Gwen Stapleton. "Obituary: Cornelia James | Culture". The Independent. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. "Cornelia James, About Us". Corneliajames.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. Susan Fowler, Gloves Fit for a Queen, With Hands-On Craftsmanship, Nytimes.com, 23 November 2014
  6. Fowler, Susanne (23 November 2014). "Gloves Fit for a Queen, With Hands-On Craftsmanship". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. "Cornelia James Ltd | Royal Warrant Holders Association". Royalwarrant.org. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  8. "Cornelia James, About Us". Corneliajames.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. Alford, Maddy. "Kate Middleton looks chic as ever in head-to-toe black". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  10. "HRH The Duchess of Cambridge looked classically elegant in her pairing of Alexander McQueen and #corneliajames yesterday". Instagram. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  11. "The Queen's new defence against coronavirus – antimicrobial gloves". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
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