British designer and tastemaker Jasper Conran joins Design Week Dublin for an intimate conversation on style, design and the art of creating spaces with character …
There are few designers whose work can be so immediately recognisable without ever feeling prescriptive. Jasper Conran has spent decades moving effortlessly between fashion, interiors, ceramics, hospitality and the arts, bringing to each a distinctive eye and an instinctive understanding of proportion, colour and craftsmanship. As part of Design Week Dublin, in partnership with Range Rover, he shared that experience on stage during a conversation about creativity with architect Amanda Bone.
The talk proved to be as much about instinct as aesthetics – how personal taste develops, and the hard-won knowledge that refusing to compromise on your vision is truly the key to his success.
Jasper shared his early start, leaving London for New York and a scholarship in Parsons School of Design at the tender age of 15. It was there that Grace Coddington discovered his second collection and an eight-page spread in Vogue followed. He talked about dressing royalty, creating some of the private clothing of Princess Diana, “not the frilly stuff”.
More recently, Conran has expanded his design vision into hospitality, curating distinctive hotels including L’Hôtel Marrakech and Villa Mabrouka in Tangier, where his refined aesthetic extends from fashion to beautifully crafted, immersive guest experiences. “I couldn’t buy any more houses so I bought a hotel” he says. As celebrated as he is in interior design, one of his greatest passions is creating award-winning costumes for the stage. “I’ve spent my life as the ultimate decision maker, but here I’m one of the creative team,” he says.
Attendees of the sold-out event included architect Mark Arigho, fashion consultant Eddie Shanahan, Sonia Reynolds and Frances Duff from Stable of Ireland, Minima’s Helen Kilmartin, photographer Barbara Corsico and Amo & Pax’s Amanda Pratt. Jasper also had some good familial support in the form of sister, furniture designer Sophie Conran, and his Irish husband, artist Oisin Byrne.
Amanda expertly explored with Jasper what it means to develop a personal design language – and how “you can only have one point of view, particularly when your name’s above the door”.
The setting was equally considered, with Think Design creating the stage design for the event, providing a suitably elegant backdrop for Jasper’s conversation and adding another layer of visual interest to the morning.
For those who may have missed out, the design conversation continues later, with Róisín Lafferty Gallery hosting Elsbeth Shaw, Hugh O’Conor and Jan Cools in conversation at 6pm.
For details of more Design Week Dublin events, in partnership with Range Rover, see www.designweekdublin.com
Photography: Conor Healy / Picture It Photography
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