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The fall and rise of Orla Kiely: ‘As horrible as it was, you just have to get on with it. There are things we won’t do again’

Repetition is key when it comes to understanding the rise and fall and rise again of Orla Kiely. The constant for the Dublin designer has always been repeating patterns. It’s simply how her mind works.

Take this quote from Kiely from 2018, a pivotal year for her company, when a retrospective of her life’s work was displayed in London, where the designer has been based for three decades. Back then she said: “I sometimes think that my brain works in repeat. I love the order and regiment of repetition ... pattern is not a trend for me, to be taken up one minute and abandoned the next when the winds of fashion change. Pattern is in me. It is my life.”

The best example of this mission statement is her simplest, most immediately identifiable motif: the rounded rowan leaves in her famous and patented Stem pattern. That’s the print you see decorating bags, mugs, kitchen containers, bed linen and rugs, those comforting, joy-bringing leaves repeating and repeating in the designer’s favourite colours: yellows, olives, oranges, greens, browns and reds. Even the least design-conscious person is almost certain to know this pattern. The same exhibition, Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern…

Orla Kiely at 30: how a single print built an enduring lifestyle brand

Irish designer Orla Kiely founded her London-based fashion and lifestyle label 30 years ago with husband Dermott Rowan, building a brand now recognised across accessories, homeware and interiors in markets worldwide. The label's landmark anniversary arrives as appetite for heritage brands, archival design and pattern-led interiors continues to shape both fashion and home categories.

Orla Kiely, who originates from Dublin and trained in print and textile design at the National College of Art before completing a master's degree at London's Royal College of Art, launched the brand as a small accessories collection. A breakthrough came in the mid-1990s with signature laminated handbags featuring simplified plant prints in bold colours.

The label expanded into homeware, furniture, stationery and broader lifestyle collections, earning an Honorary OBE in 2011 for Kiely's contribution to fashion and attracting wearers including the Duchess of Cambridge and Alexa Chung.

Orla Kiely is best known for her signature Stem print

The Stem print as brand IP

At the centre of the brand's commercial longevity sits the Stem print, designed in 2000 and now one of the most recognisable repeat patterns in British…

Orla Kiely Establishes Scholarship for MA Textiles Students

The first Orla Kiely Scholarship will be offered to one UK or EU student from the 2015 MA Textiles cohort, with a new student selected every two years. Alongside covering tuition fees for the two-year programme, the Orla Kiely Scholarship will also provide the opportunity to gain invaluable hands-on experience working with Kiely and her team during a summer placement at her London design studio. 

Best known for her unique retro prints, Kiely graduated from MA Knitted Textiles at the RCA in 1992, and began her career designing hats before moving on to handbags. The Orla Kiely label, soon to celebrate its twentieth anniversary, has now expanded to include a ready-to-wear line, a homeware collection and lifestyle products.

Kiely’s formative time at the RCA motivated her to offer support to future students. Discussing the scholarship she said: ‘it is an honour and a privilege to be able to help the next generation of designers and give that deserving individual a chance to build upon their talents at the RCA, an environment of which I have such fond memories.'

The RCA's Textiles programme offers world-class practice and research, exploring constantly-evolving materials and technology. Traditional and innovative skills are applied by students…