Originally published in print September 2020.

With new Irish designers emerging every year and numerous colleges across the country offering courses in fashion design, it is very easy to forget how far this country has come in terms of making a name for itself in the world of fashion. 

 

In the first half of the twentieth century, Ireland was a very different place compared to the Ireland that we know today. Unemployment was high, poverty was rampant and Ireland’s fight for independence plunged the country into a state of turmoil that lasted for years. Needless to say, making a name for ourselves as a fashion capital of the world was not a priority. 

 

However, that did not stop Tipperary woman Irene Gilbert from chasing her dream of founding a new culture of high fashion in this within the country. 

 

Born in Thurles in 1908, Gilbert’s career in the fashion industry began when she secured a job running a dress shop on Wicklow Street in Dublin. After working there for some years, Gilbert made the move to England where she trained under a court dressmaker. It was here that Gilbert learned the tricks of the trade while working long hours to create outfits for women of high social rank. 

 

Having moved back home in the forties, in 1947 Gilbert went on to open up her own shop. The shop was a roaring success, despite the fact that money at the time was scarce and that very few people had the spare income to spend on clothing. 

 

After three years of running her own shop, in 1950 Gilbert’s career in design was kickstarted when she held a fashion show in the Jammet Hotel and Restaurant, a trendy French-themed restaurant located in Dublin at the time. The show was a huge success and from then on Gilbert began selling clothes under her own label. This was a major advancement for the Irish fashion industry, as up until this point, the typical Irish “lady of fashion” had to travel abroad to buy couture and designer pieces. As such, Gilbert subsequently became Ireland’s first ever couturier and the first woman to successfully run a fashion business in Ireland. 

What set Gilbert aside from other designers was her keen eye and perfectionist nature. She famously spent long hours liaising with her fabric suppliers and poring over her designs before releasing them to the public. It is said that she once went as far as to turn up on the doorstep of Avoca Hand weavers in county Wicklow clutching a bunch of dried hydrangeas, begging workers in the mill to help her replicate their colour in her latest tweed creation. 

 

Undoubtedly, the peak of Gilbert’s career came when she was approached by Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco – possibly the most famous style-icon of the time –and asked to design a piece. The pair subsequently went on to develop a closely-knit friendship and Gilbert went on to design numerous pieces for the glamorous princess. In 2010, a Carrickmacross lace evening dress that Gilbert designed was featured in the Grace Kelly retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

 

Aside from Grace Kelly, the majority of Gilbert’s clients were Irish. Featuring among her list of clientele was Mrs Sean T. O’Kelly, the President’s wife, and Anne, Countess of Rosse, from Birr, Co. Offaly. Gilbert also designed one of the variations of the Aer Lingus uniform which is considered to be a major achievement for any Irish designer. 

Despite the glamour and glitz that one associates with a career in the fashion industry, Gilbert despised the limelight and blended into the background as much as she possibly could. It is likely that this is one of the main reasons as to why she failed to market her designs globally. Designer Pat Crowley, who worked with her for a period during the 1960s, claims that Gilbert was too shy to even meet with some of her most regular clients. This would be a major hinderance in such a social line of work.

 

In 1969, at the ripe old age of 61, Gilbert closed the doors of her business for the final time and said farewell to her sparkling career in design. The nature of the industry was changing too quickly for a homegrown, relatively small-scale designer like Gilbert as most people were now beginning to favour ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter clothes over garments that were made to measure.  

After her death in 1985, Gilbert left behind her an amazing legacy as both an excellent businesswomen and an exceptional designer. As the Thurles woman who paved the way for the future of Irish design during an extremely difficult period in Ireland’s history, Irene Gilbert, we salute you.