Clare Hornby

Clare Hornby (née Griffiths; born 1973)[1] is an English businesswoman. She is the founder and CEO of ME+EM.

Early life and education

Clare Hornby was born in Oldham, Manchester to Tony and Pam Griffiths. Her father was a joiner and her mother was a primary school teacher.[2] After attending Saddleworth Secondary School,[2] Hornby earned a degree in Retail Marketing from Manchester Polytechnic.[2]

Career

Hornby started her first business at the age of 14 selling second-hand shoes in Oldham market. After graduating, she moved to London and began her career at Harrods on the graduate scheme.[2] In 1991, she then moved into advertising when she joined London-based advertising agency HHCL & Partners.[3]

In 2007,[4] Hornby co-founded Pyjama Room alongside Emma Howarth.[3] Pyjama Room was a womenswear brand offering luxury loungewear essentials.

In 2009 Hornby and Howarth made the decision to evolve the product into a ready-to-wear collection and relaunch the business as ME+EM.[3] After Howarth left the business in 2012, Hornby remained as the brand's CEO.[5]

Hornby maintains a significant stake in ME+EM, after the business received investment from Highland Europe in 2022.[6]

Other work

In 2020, Hornby was made an ambassador for the King's Trust Women Supporting Women initiative.[7]

References

  1. ^ Bourne, Dianne (3 August 2025). "'I started out selling shoes on Oldham Market - now I run a £120million brand'". Manchester Evening News.
  2. ^ a b c d Armstrong, Lisa (2024-08-31). "Me+Em designer Clare Hornby: 'Male friends kept texting to say how good Victoria Starmer looked'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  3. ^ a b c "How a naïve idea turned into a multi-million pound company". FEBE. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  4. ^ Forbes, Sacha (2024-07-12). "The Princess of Wales, Cara Delevingne and now, all of Labour's chicest MPs: how Clare Hornby's brand ME+EM came to reign the social scene". Tatler. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  5. ^ Brown, Harriet (2018-04-11). "Me + Em and the direct approach to luxury". Drapers. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  6. ^ Silver, Susanne (2022-03-22). "British Direct-to-Consumer Modern Luxury Fashion Brand ME+EM raises £55m to Accelerate International Expansion". Highland Europe. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  7. ^ "Women Supporting Women founding Patrons and Ambassadors". www.kingstrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
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