Annie’s Ibiza, a boutique hidden in the castle that is part of old Ibiza town, was for a while an under-the-radar treasure trove of mostly vintage party dresses. Since opening in 2018, celebrities like Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Paris Hilton and mother-daughter models Kate and Lila Moss have all made regular pilgrimages to the store to find statement pieces.
But today their secret is out. Annie Doble, 31, the store’s founder, went from avoiding the news media to courting it as she expanded her business with a second location in London, which opened in 2021, and a line of glamorous clothing designed by Ms. Doble, which she introduced last year during London Fashion Week.
Dresses from the line have since been worn by celebrities such as Zendaya, Sienna Molenaar And Dakota Johnson, propelling Ms. Doble into a new echelon of fashion. She is no longer just a bustling merchant, but also a designer on the rise.
Ms. Doble’s clothes are made from deadstock fabrics and other leftover materials, giving them a timeless feel, similar to the vintage pieces she made her name with. Using finite resources for her designs also gives them a more unique quality, she said.
“We make everything from the dead stock we have,” Ms. Doble said recently in an interview at her London store. “Once that’s done, that’s that. We don’t make anymore.”
She wore a long ocher wrap dress and her wavy brown hair was styled in a bouncy style 1970s cover. Surrounding her were items from her latest catwalk collection from Annie’s Ibiza, including mini dresses inspired by 17th century garments, and slinky numbers she designed with Egyptian chain mail from the 1920s.
Ms. Doble described her clothes as “investment pieces,” and they are priced accordingly. Skirts and tops start at about $500, and simple dresses at about $650. More elaborate dresses, such as the cobweb-style designs worn by Ms. Miller and Ms. Johnson, can cost thousands.
“I’m not selling everyday clothes or a one-time wonder that you wear once or twice and then throw away,” Ms. Doble said. “I want you or your daughter to wear our dress in twenty or thirty years.”
Ms. Doble’s interest in fashion started early: At the age of 5, she asked her grandmother for a subscription to British Vogue. Her collection of fashion magazines grew so large, she said, that their weight eventually broke the ceiling of the kitchen where they were stored above in her family home in London. But she didn’t imagine she would become a designer growing up.
After opening her store, Ms. Doble began collaborating with new British designers such as Clio Peppiatt and Richard Quinn on pieces to sell alongside her vintage stock. Those projects, she said, helped her build the confidence — and the necessary networks of manufacturers and suppliers — to try designing her own line.
The introduction of her line came at a time when quality second-hand pieces were becoming increasingly difficult to find, she added. Vintage clothing now represents only about 40 percent of her sales.
As Ms. Doble expanded her business, she deepened her relationships with many of her customers. Her Ibiza shop, which is open from April to October, closes at 2am, but occasionally she keeps the lights on even later to accommodate night owls. (Ms Doble lives above the shop, which makes it easier to work ’24/7′, as she put it.) For some customers who come to Ibiza on superyachts, she added, clothes have been taken to sea .
“People just shout at my balcony during siesta,” she said, referring to the lunch break in Spain, which was used by many to take a nap. “I have to wake myself up and come down all the time.”
