ORLA KIELY: COLLAPSED OVERNIGHT
Kate has been wearing the Irish designer, known as ‘ the Queen of Prints’, since 2011, when she was crafting her early royal looks.
Her first high-profile outing in Orla Kiely came in February 2012, when she wore the brown wool ‘Birdie’ dresscoat to visit a school in Oxford – and ended up with a splodge of red paint on the sleeve. ever-thrifty, she wore the coat again in November 2013, on her return to the spotlight after Prince George’s birth. She also owns a grey pleated dress by the designer, which she wore for a charity engagement in October 2015, and this powder pink appliqué frock which she donned at Paddington station in November 2017. Most recently, she chose the Leith Margaret smock dress, a £490 mid-length black floral design, for the opening of an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in March. Mum Carole and sister Pippa are fans, too, with Carole sporting a blue polkadot dress to hospital to meet Prince George in July 2013, and Pippa wearing a £120 white Kiely blouse on her honeymoon.
all of Kate’s outfits sold out within 24 hours, with designer Orla, 55, who set up the brand with her husband, Dermott, in 1995, delighted by the royal endorsement. ‘We don’t know in advance,’ she said in 2017, ‘so it’s a case of, “Holy smoke!” ’
the brand went bust overnight this week, closing all five of its shops, ceasing online trading and going into voluntary liquidation. Liquidators blamed the collapse on ‘challenges’ in recent years. Profits fell from £109,000 to £74,000 last year, according to Companies House records, although turnover grew from £7.2 million to £8.3 million.
Staff were reportedly escorted out of the building in tears, with one source saying they were told they wouldn’t be paid for three weeks’ work. It was also said that Kiely and her husband paid themselves £400,000 as the fashion empire was on the brink of collapse.
WHAT THEY SAID: ‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused . . . thank you for embracing our brand and designs throughout the years and for your ongoing support.’