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For more than a decade she was the height of fashion, designing clothes for Kate Winslet, Cherie Blair and Princess Diana.
Then Ronit Zilkha became an early victim of the credit crunch, as her label's holding company went bust owing £3.5million. She saw her stock sold off and her flagship store in Marylebone High Street close.
But two years on, and with the economy in recession, she has relaunched her label - with designs based on ideas from her eight-year-old daughter Ella.
Ms Zilkha, 42, has created a collection of cashmere dresses, cardigans and accessories for girls in her new, self-funded venture, LuLLilu.
She said: "Ella hates going shopping and she hates most clothes, but when she finds something she likes she wears it to death. We sat down and I picked her brains and together we came up with this concept.
"She has now become a budding designer, sketching out designs, choosing colours and showing me what's what on a computer. I couldn't have done it without her.
"This is the first time I've put my name to something since my business collapsed. In the last two years I've been designing for other people."
Ella asked her mother to name the company after her so they used her nickname, Lulli. She also helped pick the names of the garments - inspired by friends and film stars she admires.
Ms Zilkha said: "We have an Audrey dress after Audrey Hepburn, a Ruby teddy bear after a friend and a Jackie cardigan after Jackie O."
She said cultural influences on children's clothes were important, citing the "mini-me" trend of outfits based on parents' wardrobes. Burberry has reported a 50 per cent rise in childrenswear sales.
"The bottom line is children's clothes should not be about pink for girls and blue for boys," she said. "Children are reading magazines, they are watching celebrities and they like the whole mini-me idea." But Ms Zilkha has found the mini-me outfit works both ways - she is preparing an adult LuLLilu range after customers asked if she could adapt her children's clothes.
Princess Diana's patronage made Ms Zilkha one of Britain's biggest designer names. She owned seven stores, in London, Windsor and Birmingham, and had an annual turnover of £7million. In 1997 Cherie Blair wore one of her suits when she first walked up the steps of 10 Downing Street. But the connections could not prevent Ms Zilkha's label closing. She said: "It is no secret my business collapsed. These things happen.
"Now I have something new and exciting to focus on. It has been a lot more fun designing for children that it ever was for adults."
