About Rita Britton

Rita Britton was born in 1943, terrace house in Barnsley, Leeds. Brought up in a tin bath and outside toilet, she stills claims that she lived in the most beautiful place in the world. Britton began her journey of making clothes from the age of 15 working at a paper mill, the same mill her mother worked for Yorkshire Post (2009).

Although Yorkshire Post (2009) explains that Rita’s desire to succeed started from the age of 23, with £500 savings from working in the mill and a loan from her father who worked as a lorry driver. Using these funds, Rita left the mill and opened her shop, Pollyanna. This fashion boutique is now world-famous; it was the oldest independent fashion retailer in Britain. It stocked designers such as Jean Muir, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons, offering a huge range of luxury clothing. Tredre (2015) advised that with Britton’s knowledge of Barnsley and what the public wanted, she did not allow anyone to dictate how the clothes were sold. Britton (2015: online) famously said ‘’There's a social history of the fashion industry in there’’. According to the Barnsley Chronicles (2009: online) the shop has been located in 5 locations in Barnsley town centre over the 50 years.

Musgrave advised (2015: online) “Unfortunately, with the emergency of Rita suffering from a stroke few years ago which was a big shock to all, Pollyanna is no longer in business”.

However, Rita created a new base for herself in a different building under the name Tobacco Warehouse Nomad Atelier (2015). As a creative person, Britton never saw herself as a businessperson, but now she is able to be creative in her own way and do create what she likes. Nomad Atelier, Britton’s clothing label was established 20 years ago as a collection of basics from designer labels that she stocked. These designers were not the well-known, luxury designers; as the industry in her opinion has become very ‘tits and glitz’.

The clothing brand, Nomad Atelier is more than Britton’s own spin of Japanese avant-garde and Belgian Deconstructionist fashion design that championed at her old shop, Pollyanna. This is an interesting contrast to the little black dress, as it expresses differences to the appearance of the dress and what it could symbolise.