Serena Solitaire Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute (born 29 December 1959), also known by her maiden name Serena Wendell, is a British fashion designer and former model.
Born in December 1959, Bute is the daughter of Major Jack Wendell (1924–2005) and his wife Anthea Peronelle Maxwell-Hyslop, and a niece of Robin Maxwell-Hyslop.[1] [2] She was brought up in London and rural Wales by her mother and stepfather, Peter Rees, Baron Rees, and became a fashion model.[3]
She married firstly Robert de Lisser, and they had two children, including Jazzy de Lisser.[3] Secondly, on 13 February 1999, in the marble chapel at Mount Stuart House, on the island of Bute, she married as his second wife John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute,[4] with whom she has a daughter.[3] Until his death in March 2021,[5] they shared a house in Regent's Park and also had Mount Stuart House,[3] but did not live there, preferring a renovated farmhouse, Ardscalpsie, six miles from Rothesay on the west coast of Bute.[6]
Bute is a director of Rowanwood Ltd, Deltawood Ltd, and Serena Bute Ltd.[7]
The guiding principle of the Serena Bute label is "elegant comfort". Bute's collections include wide-legged trousers, always with a grosgrain stripe. Shirts are large and tailored, made of silk, velvet, and cotton. Woollen cloths and wool-silk fabrics are supplied by Bute Fabrics, a long-established upholstery firm[3] founded by her late husband's grandfather the 5th Marquess of Bute.[5]
The label is reported as a favourite of Kate Moss, Emma Watson, Rita Ora, and Adwoa Aboah.[3]