Childhood (1853-1865)
Marcus is the first child born to Leonard and Genevieve Lytton. As you may have probably guessed, he's named after the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. His father picked that name because he could proudly boast a muggle university diploma. His father, a man who made a fortune during the industrial revolution, thought it important to send his son to a university after he concluded his Hogwarts education, to show his muggle friends. As for his
Hogwarts education, to the muggles, it was seven years in some esteemed academy abroad.
The Lyttons lived a comfortable lifestyle. Marcus' grandfather and father were involved in the textile business. Cotton and the like. Magic made their business life easier. Grandfather Lytton's products were always transported more swiftly than those of his rivals, even before the appearance of the railroad. Furthermore, both his grandfather and his father experimented in ways to make their machines work more efficiently with magic.
Marcus began to display magic when he was three. What he mostly did was change the colour of things. Ironic, given his future occupation.
He was close to his sister, Octavia. It is perhaps thanks to her that he discovered his calling for fashion. Octavia herself was a fashion-conscious girl herself, who loved to play with clothes and 'make' nice outfits for herself since childhood.
The Hogwarts Years (1865-1872)
The truth is, Marcus was a bit saddened to go to Hogwarts, as that would mean that he would be separated with his muggle friends. He grew up in the northern part of England, in a small town where his was the only magical family. As such, all of his friends were muggles and all of his wizard friends were his cousins that he saw only on holidays.
He quickly got over it once he was at Hogwarts, though. He was sorted into Ravenclaw, where he was an unorthodox student for the House. He wasn't a very good student and he was too lazy to be studious. He was witty, however, and creative. He also had a high affinity for art. He was such a good artist, that for a while he was thinking about going to one of the magical academies of art.
He discovers his true calling - fashion design - in his fourth year. He can't quite remember the day he became so interested in women's fashion. His father is appaled to find women's magazines in Marcus' bedroom during the summer break between his sixth and seventh year. God forbid his son was some invert! Octavia came to the rescue and convinced the magazines were in fact hers and she left them there out of carelesness.
Marcus' school years aren't very easy in that respect. He's a small, sensitive boy who loves art. The other boys were at times too harsh on him for that.
After Graduation; Marcus Joins His Father's Business (1872-1879)
Upon his graduation, his father makes it clear that Marcus will have to join the family business rather than continue his magical education in an art academy. Marcus learns everything he knows about running a business during these years.
In the meantime, Marcus designs dresses on a amateur level. He designs dresses for his sisters and their friends. He also designed the dresses of some female friends from Hogwarts. His designs are truly good and they have the originality of involving a little bit of magic. In his first designs, that is actually because he couldn't afford any fancy needlework or gold threads or anything of that sort. Nowadays, he is famous because of the involvement of magic in his designs.
The Birth of the House of Lytton (1879-1885)
Following the death of his father, Marcus inherits. He finally has the funds to follow his dreams; open a fashion atelier. The original House of Lytton was a tiny atelier in a less fabulous area of Diagon Alley. His first customers are the friends of his sisters, the wives of his friends and any friend they told about him. In the beginnings, he only had one seamstress to take care of the practical side of the job. He also had his sister, Octavia, to help him around.
His success today took its time to come. Thanks to his talent, hard work and patience, the House of Lytton became what it is today. Soon, he began to have bigger, wealthier customers. He became popular in magical circles, who preferred the services of a wizard than a muggle. With more customers came the need for more employees to take care of the workload.
In 1885, the House of Lytton was moved to the building it is housed in to this day. Marcus, his mother and his unmarried sister move to a lavish townhouse in London. By now, they can live a lifestyle about as lavish as that of their customers. (The reasonably rich ones, at least.)
With his success and the growth of his fortune, Marcus begins to be involved with good society more often. It is at some party that he meets a Lady Penelope Humphrey-Mavis. He has feelings for her and she does too. Sadly, he's not 'good enough' for her, even though he is just as wealthy as some people of the upper class by now!
Marcus Lytton, The Fashion Mogul (1885-present)
In 1887, Marcus' involvement in the beauty industry extends when he buys off a beauty apothecary in Diagon Alley. That is the birth of Lytton Cosmetics.