It looks like it’s all over for influential occasionwear label The Vampire’s Wife with the tough wholesale market apparently driving the final stake through the heart of the popular brand.

Founded a decade ago by ex-model Susie Cave, the business has now ceased trading with the firm saying in a statement: “Despite a period of positive growth and sales, the upheaval in the wholesale market has had dramatic implications for the brand. The Vampire’s Wife, therefore, announces that it has sadly made the decision to cease trading with immediate effect.”

And Cave added in a more emotional post on Instagram: “After ten years as The Creative Director of The Vampire’s Wife, it is time for me to say goodbye. I say this with great sadness and want to express my undying gratitude to you all for your support. I wish to thank my extended family at The Vampire’s Wife who helped me create such beautiful things. I cannot describe how much you have all meant to me. I love you all, Susie x”.

The company looked like it may have scraped through last summer when a winding-up petition was withdrawn after it settled its debt with the UK’s tax authority. The debt had built up during the pandemic period as the occasionwear market fell off a cliff.

And the latest results for the company that are available showed that in 2022, its revenue jumped year on year and it swung from a loss to a profit with an upbeat outlook for 2023 sales.

But despite the occasionwear market recovering in the past year, there’s no denying that times have remained tough for smaller, independent brands. Rising costs and the cost-of-living crisis have dealt a heavy blow to the fashion sector overall with brands such as The Vampire’s Wife at the sharp end.

Problems at other businesses are likely to have added to the pressures it faced. It was known, for instance, that Matches owed the company over £30,000 when it went into administration in March.

The company’s webstore has already shut down and a “final, physical sale” is planned for 24-26 May at The Music Room in Mayfair, London.