Donna Ida

General information

The essence of the DONNA IDA girl is defined by her love of denim which underpins her wardrobe and her entire lifestyle. The simplicity of a pair of jeans is her foundation, informing the way she lives life. She enjoys touches of glamour in every part of her world.

Jean Queen Donna Ida Thornton is the owner of The Ultimate Denim Destination with two eponymous boutiques, an online store donnaida.com, and is the creator of DONNA IDA, the denim based fashion brand. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Donna Ida Thornton moved to the UK in 1999 for a career in marketing when she spotted a gap in the market. While out shopping one day Donna realised she couldn’t find anywhere to buy jeans that she felt truly comfortable in. Department stores had a great selection but she couldn't get the service she needed. So when a friend suggested that Donna should open a boutique that just sold jeans, she did exactly that.

Donna Ida Thornton opened the doors to her first boutique in Chelsea, London in 2006 after spotting a gap in the market for a shopping haven that specialised in premium denim. Stocking an edit of the best denim brands, she quickly gathered a reputation as the ‘Jean Queen’ by fitting London’s fashion conscious women, editors, street style icons and influencers in their perfect jeans.

In 2012 Donna utilised her expertise to launch her own denim based fashion brand DONNA IDA, which GRAZIA magazine hailed ‘Jeans Genius.’ The collection was inspired by Donna’s grandmother Ida who was known for her style in rural Australia. She made all her own patterns, and clothed the entire family as well as friends. Handbags, shoes and gloves all had to match. It is with Ida in mind that Donna designs the denim based collection DONNA IDA, keeping in mind a close group of friends who would be Ida's modern day girl squad. These girls are represented in the collection in the jean that would suit their personality the most. Ivy is the leggy one, Jeanie is slightly more conservative, Rizzo is a girl about town who loves to have fun. And each season the squad grows.

Donna’s fashion ready to wear pieces are designed to capture your mood – whether it is a fun flirty top that you always feel confident in, or a cosy perfect weight cashmere jumper that you keep picking up day after day. This is how Donna names the collection pieces in the DONNA IDA collection. Downtime is the perfect jumper for just that, Out To Lunch is a great top that can take you... to lunch, but also anywhere, dress it up or down. Some pieces make you feel like referencing a classic screen star’s icon style, and it was with this in mind that we named the Hepburn Roll, Lauren, and Bonnie.

The core DONNA IDA collection comprises of high-waisted jeans which included Ivy the High Top Skinny, Rizzo the High Top Ankle Skinny and Jeanie the High Top Cigarette Leg. In 2015 Donna started introducing directional denim shapes into the collection with Margot the High Top Culotte, Sadie the Boiler Suit and Eliza the Relaxed Skinny Dungaree taking the fashion world by storm.

Today DONNA IDA is stocked at DONNA IDA boutiques on Draycott Avenue in Chelsea and Elizabeth Street in Belgravia plus in 40 UK stockists including Harvey Nichols.

Donna Ida, 40 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9NZ
Donna Ida, 106 Draycott Avenue, London SW3 3AE