Researching Irish Designers - Orla Kiely

One of the first tasks for CDC was to research an Irish designer from post 1960’s.

We all hung our research in chronological order, making a visual timeline of a myriad of Irish designers. What I loved most was the variety of design areas people researched. There was everything from furniture design to fashion and even fibre arts.

Orla Kiely is a household name, well is my house at least. Ever since I was young, I had been seeing her iconic leaf print on tea towels, mugs and especially my mother’s handbags that I desperately wanted to steal.

Going into a Kilkenny Designs shop I would instantly run to the Orla Kiely stand and just admire these variations on a theme. Different layouts, colours and scales of her iconic graphics on almost anything you could imagine.

So, when we were given this task, I knew instantly who I wanted to research. I had never done a deep dive like this on Orla Kiely even though I had admired her work for so many years. I wanted to find out her journey as a designer and what makes her work so striking and iconic in the design world.

The following is my compiled research on Orlaith Kiely:

Orla Kiely – ‘The queen of prints’

Orla Kiely is an Irish fashion designer based in London. Four years after graduating from the Royal College of Art she founded her self-titled fashion business in 1995.  (British Council, n.d.). Kiely draws from mid-century design, 1960’s fashion, bold graphics and nature in her work; The most notable being the stem graphic, which became the brands icon: ‘Often described as one of the most recognisable prints of the 21st century by experts and commentators in the world of textiles.’ (Kiely, 2026)

‘The creative world I find myself in now started with a simple idea to design a collection of bags and accessories in a rainbow of prints, always joyful and happy with an emphasis on functionality.’- Orla Kiely. (Kiely, 2026)

Orla Kiely influence had been notable since the start of her brand in 1995. After winning many awards including the UK Fashion Export Award (Kiely, 2026), and breaking her designs into global retailers she has showcased Irish design on an international level. Her cultural significance can also be noted in ‘Orla Kiely: a Life in Pattern’ at the design and craft council in Kilkenny; an exhibition of her work demonstrating ‘the power of decoration to transform the way we feel’ (Design and Craft Council Ireland, 2025).

References

British Council. (n.d.). Orla Kiely – Print, Textile, Fashion & Interiors Designer. Retrieved from Britishcouncil.ie: https://www.britishcouncil.ie/orla-kiely

Design and Craft Council Ireland. (2025). DCCI Gallery. Retrieved from DCCI.ie: https://www.dcci.ie/events/orla-kiely-a-life-in-pattern-exhibition/

Kiely, O. (2026). Our Story. Retrieved from OrlaKiely.com: https://orlakiely.com/en-eu/pages/about-orla-kiely

This was one of my first academic writing tasks of the year. I enjoyed the process of doing a wide search, followed then with more specific research. After compiling the information, I felt I had a very well-rounded piece on Orla Kiely’s life and design philosophy.

I love that CDC encourages us to research design that we are interested in and carve out our own path when forming opinions on contemporary design.