“With its lack of interest in celebrities - even though Joanna Lumley was Muir's first house model - and disinterest in trends it looked increasingly like a dusty relic in today's glitz obsessed fashion world, and the death of Muir herself hastened the company's end. Some industry insiders have said that the company brought this on itself. Although Muir's death did affect the brand several investors have approached the family-owned company. All these offers were rebuffed leading some to accuse the company of being an anachronism. Yet for a label that still insisted on holding its fashion shows in a discreet 19th century-style salon, with gilded chairs and polite applause, as opposed to the more modern approach of catwalks and paparazzi, this would probably be seen as a compliment. When it was announced in January that the company was closing Muir's husband, Harry Leukert, who has run the business since her death, was bullish in defence of his decision: "It is sad but I think this is the way Jean would have wanted it. I have, of course, had other offers but I do not want Jean's name to fall into the wrong hands and be misused. That would be horrendous and she would have hated it. I believe there is a virtue in quitting while we are ahead and leaving her name untarnished." ”
