A FASHIONISTA from Darwen has taken it upon herself to bring a worldwide online fashion retailer to the town.

Laura Moss, 22, founded her business Rex & Regina Ltd in the Entrepreneurship Bridge at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy earlier this year.

And after securing £19,000 in the form of a business start-up loan, the former Westholme School pupil made her first sale last Friday.

Dad George, who has joined the firm as a director and helped his daughter get the business up and running, said he was very proud.

He said: “I have been in business for the best part of 40 years and Laura has worked with me in some of my other ventures.

“I am extremely proud of her for doing so well at such a young age.

“She has always been interested in fashion and she is very creative.”

Rex & Regina – which is Latin for king and queen – specialises in up and coming clothing designers, as well as stocking the more established male and female designer collections.

Laura is also developing an exclusive Rex & Regina label collection and, manufacturing in the Far East and Europe, she plans to wholesale the label to larger retail outlets across the world.

Mr Moss, who lives with his daughter in Chapman Road, Hoddlesden, said: “She has just started trading and the first sale went through on Friday.

“The plan is that she will be able to employ people to deal with the mail order side of it and she wants to take on more people and create jobs.

“For the next 12 months, the plan is to keep it relatively tight but once she gets her own brand out there, she will look to grow the business.”

To learn more about Laura’s company, visit www.rexandregina.co.uk