L'Wren Scott

L’Wren Scott – Life, Career, and Legacy

L’Wren Scott (1964-2014) was an American model, stylist, and fashion designer known for her elegant silhouettes, “L’Wrenisms,” and high-profile clientele. Explore her journey, creations, and tragic end.

Introduction

L’Wren Scott, born Laura “Luann” Bambrough (April 28, 1964 – March 17, 2014), was an American model turned fashion designer and stylist whose refined, feminine aesthetic and public visibility made her a notable figure in the fashion and celebrity world. Mick Jagger (2001–2014).

Though her career was tragically cut short, her work continues to be celebrated and revisited through auctions, scholarships, and retrospectives.

Early Life and Family

• L’Wren Scott was born Laura “Luann” Bambrough in Salt Lake City, Utah.

• She was adopted by Ivan and Lula Bambrough, a Mormon couple, and raised in Roy, Utah, alongside two adopted siblings.

• She had an exceptionally tall frame from an early age: by age 12 she was already about 6 ft tall.

• She graduated from Roy High School in 1982.

Her early experiences with clothing, self-sewing, and fabric likely fed into her later fashion sensibilities.

Modeling & Styling Career

Modeling in Paris and Early Recognition

• After high school, she moved to Paris to pursue modeling.

• One of her early iconic modeling jobs was her legs being used as clock hands in a Pretty Polly hosiery ad shot by David Bailey — that campaign helped raise her profile.

• She also modeled for designers and agencies and collaborated with photographers such as Guy Bourdin, Jean-Paul Goude, and others in Europe.

Transition to Styling & Fashion Industry

• In the 1990s, L’Wren pivoted from modeling to styling and costume work.

• She worked with prominent photographers and stylists including Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton, and Karl Lagerfeld.

• She styled celebrities and magazine shoots, including for Madonna, Julia Roberts, and others.

• She also ventured into costume design for films such as Diabolique (1996), Ocean’s Thirteen, and Eyes Wide Shut.

Over time, she built both creative experience and industry connections that would support her later design label.

Fashion Design & Signature Style

Launching Her Label

• In 2006, L’Wren Scott launched her eponymous fashion line.

• Her design aesthetic was often described as sumptuous femininity with an architectural sense, combining sensual silhouettes, rigorous cuts, and elegant detailing.

• She extended her brand beyond clothing to shoes, handbags, glasses, makeup, and fragrance.

• In 2013, she collaborated with Banana Republic on a more affordable ready-to-wear line for the holiday season.

Design Philosophy & “L’Wrenisms”

• She is credited with coining a set of stylistic etiquette rules known as “L’Wrenisms”, which included tips such as wearing nude shoes to elongate the leg and avoiding visible bras or Spanx in favor of well-designed garments that "do the work" for the wearer.

• She emphasized that a garment should feel secure and sensual:

  “I like a very sexy silhouette, and I like to feel like when you put something on, you zip yourself into it, and you're secure in there.”

• Her collections often drew inspiration from nature, historical forms, and detailed embellishments.

Her reputation was that she was deeply involved in the construction of her garments — patternmaking, sourcing fabrics, fittings — not just conceptually but technically.

Clientele and Red Carpet Presence

• Her dresses were worn by high-profile figures such as Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, and Amy Adams.

• Michelle Obama also wore Scott’s designs.

• She designed stage and tour costumes for Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones, including elaborate jackets and theatrical pieces.

• Her garments were known for craftsmanship, quality of materials, and attention to detail.

Her brand gained a strong celebrity following and presence in high-end fashion circles.

Personal Life & Challenges

Marriages & Relationships

• She was married twice:

  • In 1991 she married Andrew Ladsky, a British property developer (divorced by 1993).

  • In 1993, she married Anthony Brand, manager of a Prada franchise in Beverly Hills; that marriage ended by 1997.

• Her most significant and enduring relationship was with Mick Jagger, beginning around 2001 and lasting until her death in 2014.

The relationship often attracted media attention, but Scott largely maintained a private profile.

Financial & Business Struggles

• Reports after her death indicated that her London-registered company, LS Fashion Ltd, had significant debts (around $7.6 million) by 2012.

• She had canceled her London Fashion Week show in early 2014, citing production delays.

• There is speculation that business pressures, along with personal challenges, contributed to emotional distress.

These difficulties, however, should not overshadow her creative ambition and impact.

Death & Aftermath

• On March 17, 2014, L’Wren Scott was found dead in her Manhattan apartment. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.

• She was 49 years old.

• No suicide note was publicly disclosed.

• After her death, Mick Jagger wrote:

  “I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way … she had great presence and her talent was much admired.”

• She left her entire estate (estimated at $9 million) to Jagger; her siblings were reportedly left out of the will.

• A memorial was held in Utah on April 12, 2014, led by her brother Randall Bambrough. Her ashes were buried near her adoptive parents’ resting place in Utah.

• In 2015, Jagger established a scholarship in her name at Central Saint Martins (a leading London art & design school) for fashion design students.

• In 2021, Christie's held a sale of her designs, with proceeds going into her scholarship fund.

Her death raised many questions about mental health, pressures in creative industries, and the complexity of public/private life.

Legacy & Influence

• Though her fashion label was comparatively young, her reputation for combining elegance and strong silhouettes left a distinctive mark in celebrity fashion circles.

• Her scholarships and the auctioning of her works help preserve her legacy and support emerging designers.

• Her life also underscores the emotional and financial pressures that designers can face, even when publicly successful.

• She continues to be remembered not just as Mick Jagger’s partner, but as an ambitious creative with her own voice and vision.

Her story is sometimes invoked in conversations about the demands of fashion, the intersection of art and commerce, and mental health in the public eye.

Memorable Statements & Style Notes

Here are a few of her quotes or style principles (L’Wrenisms) that reflect her aesthetic approach:

• “I like a very sexy silhouette, and I like to feel like when you put something on, you zip yourself into it, and you're secure in there.”

• Style rules she advocated: wear nude shoes to elongate legs, avoid visible bras or Spanx (let the garment do the work), spray perfume on the back of the hand instead of the wrist.

These small rules and her obsession with silhouette capture the sensitivity of her design philosophy.