L.K.Bennett

L.K.Bennett is an international luxury fashion brand, based in London, England. Reflecting its modern British heritage, it has established itself as a leading British brand, offering collections of shoes, clothing, handbags and accessories.

Linda Kristin Bennett (born 8 September 1964) is an English-Icelandic clothing designer and entrepreneur. The daughter of a London-based fashion retail entrepreneur, and an Icelandic sculptor mother, she grew up in North London, and was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, Elstree and Reading University, where she read Land Management. She then trained as a cordwainer at Hackney’s Cordwainers College (now part of the London College of Fashion), and then working for French designer Robert Clergerie, before working on the sales floor of retailers Whistles and Joseph.

Bennett has been the recipient of several awards since founding the store chain, including: Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Consumer Product category) in 2002; Best Women’s Footwear Retailer (UK Footwear Award) in 2003; Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year in 2004; Entrepreneurs’ Entrepreneur award in 2009. In 2004, Bennett was made an honorary fellow of the London College of Fashion, her alma mater, and she sits on the development council of the University of the Arts London, of which the London College of Fashion is a part. In 2006, Bennett was awarded an OBE for services to the fashion industry in the New Year Honours list.

Bennett set up the first L.K.Bennett shop in Wimbledon Village in 1990, with a goal to produce "something in-between the designer footwear you find in Bond Street and those on the high street”. Because of her equal emphasis on comfort and glamour, Bennett earned the nickname “Queen of the Kitten Heel”.