Kate Middleton favors this British brand. Now it’s coming for Americans.

livemint.com:

When Clare Hornby, founder and chief executive of British fashion brand ME+EM, first wanted to expand in the U.S., her board wasn’t thrilled. America was more likely a money pit than a goldmine, they told her. Hornby did it anyway.

“I actually went against all my board’s advice," Hornby said. “I go to New York a lot. It was gut-feel instinct: I just felt that the gap that existed in the U.K.

existed there too." Hornby’s concept of what she calls “modern luxury for busy women" has gained a following among British professionals as well as celebrities including Catherine, Princess of Wales, and actor Sienna Miller. She was confident its blend of stylish yet functional designs, intended to appeal across generations and outlive the latest fads, would be a hit in America, too. This month the brand opened a second store in New York City and a third U.S.

location in East Hampton. It sells ruffled broderie tops and paisley-print blouses for a few hundred dollars and full-length silk dresses for almost $1,000. The expansion is the latest example of how European brands are embracing the U.S.

as alternative growth markets such as China and Russia become increasingly fraught, and online sales show demand. In doing so, they’re challenging a long-held view that the U.S. is too big and overwhelming for most small foreign brands—and even some larger ones—to risk dallying with.

Building your brand in America had required vast sums spent opening stores, and even then some deep-pocketed entrants—such as British retail mainstays Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Topshop—fell flat. Seen as complex and expensive, the U.S. wasn’t as appealing as lucrative new markets like China.

Now the U.S. is a bright spot. Consumer spending is reliable and American