A SOLIHULL tailoress has died at the age of 94.
Madeleline Leddington, who owned Madeleine Ann in Drury Lane for nearly 50 years, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 1.
From an early age she was always interested in fashion and dressmaking.
She opened her first clothes shop in a double fronted house in Wolverhampton shortly after meeting her beloved husband Eric.
The pair used one side to open a children’s clothing shop selling up market children’s clothes.
Subsequently, the shop moved to Stourbridge and when the next door shop became available Madeleine and Eric took on that lease and opened a ladies designer clothes shop.
They later went on to open the shop in High Street Solihull.
When Eric died suddenly in 1975 aged 42 Madeleine was left with two businesses to run.
Madeleine, who threw herself into extending the business and subsequently opened further shops in Worcester, Leamington Spa, Bath, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Stratford.
Solihull remained her flagship store and she relocated from the High Street to Drury Lane where she traded until her retirement in 2020 aged 89 a period of nearly 50 years.
Friend, Ann Parker, who was once Madeleine’s customer, said: “Madeleine was highly respected in the fashion trade not only in Britain but also in Milan where she travelled to buy stock for her shops.
“She was the largest stockist of Max Mara and Armani outside of Harrods.
“She was the first stockist of Fabiana Filippi and Bruno Coccinelle in Britain – even before Harrods. She also stocked brands such as Kenzo, Moschino, Cerrutti and Missioni to name a few – bringing to the Midlands designers never before available.
“Even in her late 80’s Madeleine would travel to Milan on buying trips, landing at Birmingham late at night and driving down the M42 home.
“Ever the consummate business women her last sale gave her as much joy as her first.
“I had so much respect for what she achieved in business particularly as a single woman and she just had an amazing eye for not only fashion but style. Her home is also a testament to her great taste.”
Madeleine was born in Wednesbury in 1931 and was the eldest of three children.
Her funeral is on Thursday, Octobe 23, at 11am at Redditch Crematorium, Bordesley Lane, Redditch, B97 6RR.
