By Rose Mary Roche

Copyright evoke

Designer Paul Costelloe is Ireland’s Ralph Lauren. Both designers have survived in a notoriously cut-throat industry, share a love of immaculate tailoring and are still leading their brands in their 80s.

Costelloe also excels at using fabrics, textures and proportions to create beautiful garments. Born in June 1945 – he recently turned 80 – he shows no sign of easing up.

The designer has drawn on his Irish heritage with garments including Aran knits and Irish tweeds, but always with an international polish, which reflect his experience working in New York, Paris and Milan. Subtle, understated, yet skillfully designed, Costelloe’s clothes are testament to his unerring eye.

Costelloe again launched London Fashion Week bright and early on Friday, with an ultra-feminine and flirty collection full of pastel tones and abbreviated hemlines. The show, entitled Boulevard of Dreams, was an optimistic and effervescent affair with pretty prints, soft checks, oversized bows and strategic cutouts that highlighted willowy waistlines.

The designer seemed determined to defy the prevailing atmosphere of gloom and to show that despite his big birthday this year he remains totally tuned into the demands of a younger consumer.

The opening sequence was a symphony of soft pastels that evoked the colours of sugared almonds, and the styling was girlish with cropped corset tops, flirty flared minis and chic Chanel-style jackets.

Pretty as a picture, the show celebrated girlish charms and carefree days in the sunshine.

Here we look back at notable looks over four decades and his belief that ‘classic design still has its place in high fashion’.

OUT OF AFRICA COLLECTION

This image is from Costelloe’s 1986 Out Of Africa collection inspired by the 1985 film starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. It had a major impact on fashion with designers including Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler using it as inspiration.

The story inspired safari, and riding looks in linen and cotton in shades of white, khaki and brown across pieces like midi skirts, jodhpurs, belted safari jackets, crisp white shirts and wide-brimmed safari hats with knee-high boots. Always a huge fan of linen, Costelloe was attracted to the aesthetic and its romantic yet unfussy feel.

Here the model wears a jacket, shirt and tie with a scarfed hat that display Costelloe’s signature finesse.

Princess Diana remains one of Costelloe’s most famous clients and as this image testifies, she wore his clothes well. Blessed with height, good posture and a perfect size 10 figure, Diana made anything look stylish, but Costelloe’s clean tailored lines suited her perfectly.

A lady-in-waiting first discovered his designs in a shop in Windsor and soon Costelloe was summoned to a private audience with the princess, which led to him becoming her personal designer from 1983 on. He dressed her on multiple occasions and as this pink two-piece demonstrates, it was a fortuitous match for both.

ROSANNA DAVISON

Rosanna Davison won Miss Ireland in August 2003, going on to win the Miss World title that December, becoming the first Irish woman to do so. She subsequently modelled in the Paul Costelloe show in September 2004 showing his spring summer 2005 collection. Here she sports a classic Costelloe look, a tailored single-breasted short jacket with contrast piping and a PC monogram paired with co-ordinating trousers. The hair and make-up may be pure 2000s, but that suit could still be worn today, which testifies to the longevity of Costelloe’s creations.

CORPORATE CHIC

Costelloe’s designs in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s were associated with the growing presence of women in the workforce – – his his workforce streamlined suits became a kind of uniform for career women who needed clothes that conveyed calm and competence. These charcoal grey outfits from an LFW show in 2006 demonstrates why his tailoring was so cherished by career women – – cherish- it gave them the presence and polish to take on any challenge. The spirit of female empowerment in these chic corporate clothes conveys the authority that great tailoring gives.

Costelloe also enjoyed a long and successful career with his designer menswear. Here his handsome sons take to the catwalk at LFW in September 2010, showing that style is inherent in the family’s DNA. Costelloe’s menswear was made under licence in Italy and the Italian love of sprezzatura, or nonchalant elegance, is evident in the lines of his smart, crisp suits.

Family remains hugely important to Costelloe – he has seven children – and some offspring work in his business, notably his son William who designs the brand’s prints, and his daughter Jessica who looks after his PR.

TAKING A BOW THROUGH TIME

Here in 2010, Costelloe takes his bow at his spring/summer 2011 show. The photo illustrates the designer’s enduring personal uniform of black blazer, crisp shirt, slim jeans and white trainers, which he has worn for decades. His youthful outfit perhaps reflects his belief that that ‘in fashion, age isn’t relevant’ and his ambition to keep working. Recently he said he doesn’t plan to retire for another decade and cited his inspiration as ‘joy, enjoying life’. With the example of his design idol Giorgio Armani – who worked until 89 – as inspiration, Costelloe may follow suit. In 2024, he took his bow at the label’s 40th anniversary at LFW in double denim.

STILL CREATING CLASSIC TAILORING

This image from February 2024 showcases a luxurious design from Costelloe’s current autumn/winter collection, which is easily comparable to an oversized herringbone coat he designed in 1984, showing the thread of consistency throughout his career. In fact, that 1980s coat could still be worn today. Despite his success, Costelloe remains slightly ambivalent about his design career, previously revealing: ‘I suppose I work in fashion because I couldn’t anything else. At school I was very unsuccessful. I was given a gift as painter. Art is probably my natural gift. But I wasn’t committed on that either, and I am not probably that committed to fashion… I enjoy the challenge of competing against much younger designers. I am a bit of egotist with probably more talent in one way.’

FINDING A NEW YOUNG AUDIENCE

Costelloe told an interviewer back in 2017 that, ‘I probably had the mother as a client 30 years ago and now I want to get her daughter’. Such has been the designer’s drive to keep going and re-invent that he is now dressing a younger generation as per that ambition. For example, he has outfitted the nieces of Princess Diana, Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer, over 30 years after he dressed their glamorous aunt. Other younger Irish celebrity fans have included Maura Higgins (above), Vogue Williams and Laura Whitmore, who have added a youthful glamour to the brand.