Georgina von Etzdorf was born in Lima, Peru, in 1955. Her father was Prussian and her mother English. She spent her childhood in South America and this has affected her personality. She speaks fluent Spanish. Her family moved to London, where she studied at the Camberwell College of Art.
In 1981 in partnership with two college friends Jonathan Docherty and Martin Simcock, she started a company producing distinctive hand-printed textiles. Lustrous velvet, chiffons and silk were printed with abstract designs and lucid blocks of colour. Her scarves have been widely influential.
In Spring 1998 she called her collection Vermilion and used the rich tones of cerlean and manganese.
Using these silk-screen printing techniques, she has diversified into dresses, gowns, pyjamas and evening wear.
However it is for her exquisite scarves that she is world famous.
Georgina von Etzdorf now has two major showrooms in London and one in New York. She has about 300 retail outlets in 20 countries at present.