Irene Gilbert (fashion designer)
Irene Gilbert (1908 – 7 August 1985[1])[2] (pronounced "Irini")[3] was born in Thurles, County Tipperary. She was an Irish fashion designer based in Dublin.[4][5][6][7][8] Ireland's first couturier, she was a member of the "Big Three" Irish fashion designers, along with Sybil Connolly and Raymond Kenna/Kay Peterson.[9][10] Designing for royalty and high society,[3] she was famous for her work and friendship with Grace Kelly.[2][6] She was the first woman to run a successful fashion business in Ireland, operating out of a shop on St Stephen's Green on the southside of the city.[6]
Early life
[edit]Gilbert was born in Thurles, County Tipperary in 1908.[9][2][11]
Gilbert attended Alexandra College, after which she spent a short amount of time at a Belgian finishing school.[12]
Work
[edit]Gilbert's career in the fashion industry began when she ran a dress shop on Wicklow Street in Dublin.[2] She then went to London to train under a court dressmaker, before returning to open a hat shop on Dublin's North Frederick Street in the late 1940s.[2]
Having moved to St Stephen's Green, Gilbert opened a shop there in 1947.[11][13][6] She began selling clothes under her own label from 1950, since her first show took place in Restaurant Jammet.[6] She was known for her work with silk, tweed,[14] linen and Carrickmacross lace.[15][16][3][13][11] Future celebrated designer, Pat Crowley, worked for Gilbert for seven years from 1960, as a designer as well as a sales and marketing specialist.[17][18][19] The quality of the work contributed to Dublin's reputation as a "must stop-over" for the international fashion media.[20] In 1962, Gilbert co-founded the Irish Haute Couture Group with Ib Jorgensen and Nelli Mulcahy.[21]
She designed one of the ten variations of the Aer Lingus uniform.[22]
Gilbert closed the business in 1969 and emigrated to Malta.[13][6] She later moved to Cheltenham in England where she died in 1985.[2]
Legacy
[edit]Gilbert's creations were prized by Anne, Countess of Rosse whose collection of Gilberts are now curated at Birr Castle.[6] The National Museum of Ireland holds some of her letters and drawings, as well as some of her clothes.[12] In January 2018, Gilbert's life and work was part of an exhibition at the Little Museum of Dublin.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ The Irish Times, 7 Aug 1985: 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g "How a young woman from Thurles became Ireland's first 'fashion radical'". thejournal.ie. 27 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c
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- ^ a b c d e f g O'Byrne, Robert (1 April 2000). "Out of style, out of mind". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
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- ^ a b
- ^ O Sullivan, Kathleen (16 November 2016). "'Fashion With An Irish Brogue': The Life And Legacy Of Sybil Connolly". headstuff.org. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c
- ^ a b "Gilbert, Irene | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ a b c
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- ^ "Pat Crowley: A Tribute". IMAGE.ie. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Hourican, Emily (23 December 2013). "Always a cut above the rest". Independent.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Fashion designer and astute businesswoman". The Irish Times. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
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- ^ "Neilli Mulcahy". independent. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ "Aer Lingus crew to get sartorial upgrade". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
Further reading
[edit]- O'Byrne, Robert (2000). After a Fashion: A History of the Irish Fashion Industry. Dublin: Town House and Country House. ISBN 1860591159.
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