Orla Kiely, OBE was born on 24 May 1962 and is an Irish fashion designer based in London.
18 Facts About Orla Kiely
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Orla Kiely began her career designing hats, and moved on to design work on handbags and a variety of other items including kitchenware and cars.
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Orla Kiely received a master's degree from the Royal College of Art.
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Orla Kiely worked with several companies before setting up her own business.
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Orla Kiely's father was an accountant; her mother studied science before being forced to give up work by her employers after she married.
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Orla Kiely moved to England to work for Esprit while studying for a master's degree at the Royal College of Art in London, primarily in knitwear.
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Orla Kiely began designing handbags and hats after her father noted during her first London Fashion Week that everyone was carrying a handbag, but no one was wearing a hat.
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Orla Kiely was consulting for other companies and designing her own collection at the weekend, which she would give to me to organize.
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Orla Kiely has been awarded the title of Visiting Professor of Textiles at the Royal College of Art and was made a Senior Fellow in 2016.
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In June 2014, Orla Kiely was awarded an honorary degree from the University for the Creative Arts.
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In 2015, Orla Kiely was made an Honorary Fellow of the British Institute of Design.
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Orla Kiely was made an Honorary Doctor of Norwich University of the Arts.
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Orla Kiely has designed a refillable water bottle called the "Wottle", which is a collaboration with the water filter company Brita.
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Orla Kiely's business operates out of a studio in Pimlico, London.
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Orla Kiely has completed two publications entitled Home and Pattern, both published by Conran Octopus.
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Orla Kiely released a third publication, A Life in Pattern, in early 2018 to coincide with her exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in May.
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In July 2010 Orla Kiely was one of six contemporary, internationally renowned Irish fashion designers featured on a set of Irish postage stamps issued by An Post.
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Orla Kiely's stamp was an 82c stamp bearing her name in large orange letters at the top along with an image of a handbag with her leaf design against a white background.