What about pattern itself – where does one begin to mix and match? "Different scales are good, different coverage is good," she says, explaining that the idea of "clashing" is the point, rather than the thing to avoid. "They kind of need to contrast – you want to link the colours somehow, but if you put similar patterns together, ones with the same weight, for example, the risk is that it can look like a mistake." But, she adds, it's also personal. "One person will make it work. Another won't." She’s very popular in Asia, because what she does is seen as quite cute in places like Japan and Korea, whereas in New York City it’s seen as contemporary but charming in a way that’s appealing to professional women, who see it as being feminine without being fussy or twee.” As well as examining the success of the Orla Kiely brand, the exhibition explores the artist’s childhood in Ireland and the way this environment formed her creative outlook, including the influence for her love of colour paying homage to the colours of the Irish countryside, from the greens and greys of vast skies to the browns and mustard yellow of the rolling hills and gorse. Fashion collections are showcased on the mezzanine gallery, with over 30 full outfits displayed on mannequins alongside a wall dedicated to Orla’s iconic handbags. For Dennis Nothdruft, curator at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Kiely’s success stems in part from the clarity of her work, the consistency of her approach and the flexibility of her business model, which relies on a series of trusted licensees for all of its manufacturing. “There’s a very strong DNA that runs through everything she produces. She has a process. She absorbs things and then she filters them so that they come out in a very Orla Kiely way that’s all about her vision,” Nothdruft explains. Perhaps it should be no surprise that when Kiely has spoken about her musical preferences in the past, she’s listed contemporary artists such as Feist and Joanna Newsom, as well as classic acts such as Minnie Riperton and Van Morrison. Patterned prints from Orla Kiely

a b De Rosa, Sophie (27 September 2010). "World of: Orla Kiely, designer". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 7 February 2022. Her fashion line has been worn by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, [13] [14] and celebrities including Kirsten Dunst [4] and Alexa Chung.

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It’s not about trends; it’s about who she is and what she feels, and that’s why her work is so consistent. That’s also why I don’t think it will go out of date,” Nothdruft suggests. “It’s a look that can keep going because it will keep on adapting.” Foam Board Printing Step-by-Step Instructions - Another resource that will help your children understand printing. This one is a set of KS1 friendly instructions which will help children to produce a print using a foam board. Mid 1990’s when Orla showcased hats at London Fashion Week, her father noticed that very few women wore them, but all carried a bag. Which started the key offering, made originally of wool, cottons and mesh, she then started making them in leather and bright colours. The Orla Kiely archive of bags consists of bags showcasing two principal characteristics. The ‘Stem’ range is generally produced in classic shapes and in shoulder and cross body versions. The main line has always been reflective of the designer’s latest concept, exploring different techniques and applied with finishes in prints and embroidery. The exhibition charts the growth and success of Orla Kiely from her first collection of hats at London Fashion Week in 1994, through the advent of the iconic Orla Kiely bag in the mid-nineties to her freelance work for department stores executed from her kitchen table in 1998.

Orla Kiely products were sold in over 33 countries. Her clothing, handbags, accessories and homewares have been featured in films, TV shows and even a novel, ‘Girl on a train’. Covered in magazines and newspapers, she appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Sunday time and Grazia magazine.Orla Kiely, OBE (born 1963) is an Irish fashion designer based in London. She began her career designing hats, and moved on to design work on handbags and a variety of other items including kitchenware and cars. She received a master's degree from the Royal College of Art. She worked with several companies before setting up her own business. It’s been 20 years since Kiely first developed the Stem pattern that has helped to make her business an international success; during this time the designer has taken a remarkably consistent approach to her work, eschewing trends in the fashion cycle in favour of collections that correspond across the decades. The Afternoon Show, RTÉ One". RTÉ News. 10 November 2008. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009 . Retrieved 30 November 2009.

Kiely’s visually crisp and geometrically disciplined patterns work across clothes, accessories and homeware. This is combined with a particularly broad appeal, zeroing in on that difficult-to-hit sweet spot of delight, commercial success and aesthetic rigour that’s normally the reserve of articulate, perfectly pitched pop music. Her patterns will stand the test of time, and I think they already have. If you look at Stem, it’s been going continually for 18 years or so now.” LKS2 Pride Rainbow Flags Craft Instructions - These instructions make a lovely art activity that can work as a cross-curricular PSHCE lesson, too. Let your LKS2 pupils have fun making these LGBTQ+ Pride Flags that they're sure to enjoy creating. Kiely first studied print and textile design at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. She moved to London where she studied at the Royal College of Art. For Nothdruft, this is all achieved without resorting to pastiche or nostalgia, and places Kiely in a longer trajectory that arcs from the Arts & Crafts Movement through to the mid-­century Modernism of English textile designer Lucienne Day, and the bold, effusive fabric designs of the Finnish company Marimekko. Importantly, at the heart of each of these examples is a holistic approach to design as a way of life, from the small scale of the spoon to the breadth of an entire city as Italian architect Ernesto Rogers once proclaimed, but they are also projects that are inextricably connected with joy.We have a great range of art resources for the classroom and for home learning. Art for KS1 doesn't always have to be as messy as this Orla Kiely activity might well end up being, but we can't promise all of our selections will leave you and your children free of mess: Easy for her to say. But not necessarily an easy look to incorporate into the home. How does she advise the pattern-shy and colour-phobic to be bold? "I always think it's good to plan one strong feature rather than lots of bitty things," she says. "So if you're going to go for patterned wallpaper, you don't really want print on your sofa and print on your floor: make it a focal point. There's less opportunity to get it wrong." My love of fashion was evident from an early age… fashion would become my window to the world, a way to voice my personal language and communicate my ideas’