QUEEN OF PRINTS

The work of Irish designer Orla Kiely has adorned everything from kettles to cars

Arguably one of Ireland’s top exports, Orla Kiely is a prolific designer whose instantly recognisable prints have donned all manner of surface and product. Kiely began her career designing hats, but after her father made the astute observation that everyone carries a handbag but nobody wears a hat, she swiftly moved on to creating stylish handbags.

After qualifying as a textile designer at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Kiely had the idea to laminate her elaborate prints and use the fabric to create handbags — something nobody was doing at the time.

It didn’t take long for this side business to explode and soon she was producing clothing and fashion accessories of all kinds — garments which over the years have been worn by the likes of the Duchess of Cambridge, Alexa Chung, Emma Thompson, Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley.

Later she moved into homeware, creating wallpapers, fabrics and a vast range of household goods, from cookware to bed linen, gardening accessories, bath towels and more.

Kiely’s simple yet powerful retro prints have seen brands across the world approach her to collaborate. She has lent her prints to products as diverse as limited-edition Danone yoghurts, Brita water bottles — or “Wottles”, a range of Citroën DS3 cars that sport her patterns on parts of both the interior and exterior, and even the back of a London bus.

The Irish designer’s work is currently featuring in a major retrospective at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum. Hardly surprisingly, given the playful and often humorous nature of her bold textiles, is that the show has so far proved the fastest-selling exhibition the museum has ever held.

A Life in Pattern runs at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, until September 23. ftmlondon.org