Back "Fashion Capital" - the Business of Fashion with Paul Costelloe 

Feb 29, 08

By Fionuala Pender

in Network Public Communication

 (Total Ratings: 0)

On 27th February, over 120 IIBN members gathered to hear the fascinating story of the Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe at the RSA near The Strand.

Born in Dublin, Paul was the youngest of 7 children. Attendees were treated to a short history of Paul?s early days in Ireland, from his American mother to his school days in Blackrock. Throughout his talk, Paul gave a preview of his Spring and Autumn collections for 2008 and models were on hand to illustrate the elegance of his clothes which only highlighted why Paul is considered one of the most established names in British Fashion. With a strong sense of style and the desire to create wearable designs with a fresh feel, it is easy to see why Paul Costelloe has been the head of such a successful label for over 25 years.

Paul briefly outlined his early career which started in the late 1960s when he went to Paris and enrolled at the Chamber Syndicate, the French equivalent of the British Fashion Council. Typically dismissive of his formal training, Paul says he learnt most about fashion just by living in Paris in the era of Ungaro and Cardin.

By 1969, still only 23 years old, he was design assistant to Jacques Esterel. Moving from the sublime to the commercial two years later, Paul became a designer with Marks & Spencer and was sent to train in Milan. M&S soon abandoned their assault on the Italians but Paul stayed on with La Renescente, the department store whose previous designers had included Giorgio Armani.

By the time he had added the USA to his CV, working first in New York and then in Philadelphia, Paul Costelloe had become an experienced designer. In 1979 he moved back to Ireland and created his own label.

Paul Costelloe continues to build his womenswear business in the U.K. and Ireland with plans to open further stand alone stores in the UK, including one in Chester and Marlow. This year Paul hopes to further expand the Catwalk Collection part of his womeswear range, offering more limited edition elements to the current range; elements which are inspired by, or in some case are straight off the catwalk.

Photos courtesy of Louise Jefferson