World-famous fashion designer, Karen Millen OBE, has been declared bankrupt.

The case for insolvency went before the High Court this week, after she was reportedly unable to pay an outstanding £6m tax bill.

The 55-year-old, who lives in Wateringbury near Maidstone, now faces the possibility of losing her £3m mansion and other property.

Karen Millen opened her first self-titled store in Maidstone’s Royal Star Arcade in 1983 and watched the business flourish into a multi-million-pound brand with branches across the world.

Miss Millen, a former student at Medway College of Art, now UCA University for the Creative Arts, began her career making shirts.

She launched the label with former husband and business partner Kevin Stanford. They sold the company in 2004 to Icelandic corporation Baugur in a £120 million deal.

The chain was then bought by the Mosaic Group before being taken over by Aurora Fashions.

But the mum-of-three lost a large amount of her fortune following the collapse of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing after the 2008 financial crisis, and has remained in a legal battle with them ever since.

The Karen Millen brand, seen on celebrities including Nicole Scherzinger and Spice Girl Emma Bunton, still has Kent outlets in Canterbury, Bluewater and Bromley.