Exhibition Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern

“I sometimes think that my brain works in repeat. I love the order and regiment of repetition, and how anything and everything can be patterned in this way, as if you are looking at the world through a prism or kaleidoscope”, said Orla Kiely. A magic kind of kaleidoscope, if we look at the dazzling patterns and the interesting combination of colours, at the exuberance of shapes and fabrics all together. The exhibition “Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern” is now opened in UK.

The exhibition “Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern” is open from 25 May – 23 September 2018 at The Fashion and Textile Museum. 
More details on www.ftmlondon.org  #fashiontextile

About the exhibition

• it is the first exhibition dedicated to the designer Orla Kiely, that will draw on an archive of over 20 years of work, offering visitors unparalleled insight into her methods and concepts, exploring sketches, mood boards, samples and a range of making techniques.
• presented thematically, Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern will explore all aspects of Orla’s creative output, from lifestyle and fashion ranges to use of colour and detail and the geometry of pattern.
• the exhibition will play on distortions of size, creating an Alice in Wonderland feel. Dresses will be re-imagined to tremendous sizes and displayed alongside tiny dolls in replica outfits.
• over 30 full outfits are displayed on mannequins and complemented by a whole wall dedicated to Orla’s iconic handbags.
• the exhibition will also take a more personal turn, exploring Orla’s childhood in Ireland and the way this environment informed her creative work.

Orla Kiely Spring Summer 2017 New York Fashion Week © Orla Kiely

Orla Kiely Spring Summer 2015 Lookbook © Orla Kiely

About Orla Kiely… 

1. Orla’s work is inspired by the pattern of the 1950s and 1960s, by designers such as Mary Quant, Shirley Craven and Lucienne Day. With her use of signature patterns, natural motifs, colouration and big bold outlines, the designer’s work can be seen within a historical trajectory of artists; William Morris, Voysey, Marimekko.
2. The exhibition will chart the growth of Orla Kiely from her first collection of hats presented at London Fashion Week in 1994, through the advent of the iconic Orla Kiely bag in the mid-nineties.
3. Orla Kiely product is sold in over 33 countries, with over 1000 stockists including, Selfridges, Fenwicks, Anthropologie, and John Lewis, as well as Orla Kiely flagship stores in London and New York.

Orla Kiely portrait. Image by Nicole Nodland © Orla Kiely

Photography: courtesy of (c) Orla Kiely / for The Fashion and Textile Museum.

More details on www.ftmlondon.org

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