A rare opportunity to hear from one of Britain’s most influential designers …
Designer and hotelier Jasper Conran OBE has enjoyed an extraordinary, multi-faceted career spanning fashion, interiors, product design, theatre and hospitality. On September 16, Conran comes to Ireland for Design Week Dublin, where he will sit down with architect and broadcaster Amanda Bone for an intimate conversation about his life and work. Jasper Conran: A Life in Design takes place at The Malt House, Grand Canal Quay, from 11am-12.30pm. It promises to be a rare chance to hear Conran reflect first-hand on the ideas, influences and design principles that have shaped a remarkable career – from fashion and retail to the creation of some of the world’s most distinctive boutique hotels.
The son of design legend Sir Terence Conran and author Shirley Conran, Jasper grew up surrounded by creativity. After studying at Parsons School of Design in New York, he launched his eponymous fashion label in London in 1978. Over the decades that followed, his creative world expanded dramatically: from womenswear and product design to collections for the home, and from ballet, opera and theatre productions to richly atmospheric interiors.
His work has appeared under his own name and through collaborations with some of the world’s most respected heritage brands, including bone china for Wedgwood, crystal for Waterford, and fabrics and furniture for Designers Guild. He also left an indelible mark on retail design through his role as Creative Director and later Chairman of The Conran Shop, the iconic furniture and interiors business founded by his father.
Throughout it all, Conran has maintained an unusually hands-on approach, running his own companies from his London office and retaining creative control. His design philosophy is rooted in three enduring principles: simplicity, usefulness and longevity.
That same sensibility extends to his passion for historic buildings. Conran has restored a number of remarkable properties, including Wardour Castle, the Palladian mansion in Wiltshire where he married Irish artist and filmmaker Oisin Byrne in 2015. The couple now live in a charming 17th-century manor house in Dorset, while together they have also restored a historic residence in Lindos on the Greek island of Rhodes, combining two 16th-century captain’s houses. The interiors reveal their shared love of texture, heritage and atmosphere.
In 2016, Conran turned his attention to hospitality, acquiring L’Hotel Marrakech, part of a historic palace in the Medina. He transformed it into a serene, six-suite urban retreat filled with antiques and art from his private collection. “It’s a Moroccan/European mélange,” he says. Traditional Moroccan zouak ceilings, zellige tiles and whitewashed walls provide the backdrop for fine furniture and elegant four-poster beds draped in flowing white voiles.
His most recent hotel project is the intimate twelve-room Villa Mabrouka, a spectacular coastal retreat with exceptional gardens that was once home to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Conran has described how he painstakingly took the 1930s villa apart and put it back together, preserving its modernist character and faded Riviera glamour while introducing the comfort and luxury expected of a contemporary boutique hotel.
The result is quintessential Conran: deeply rooted in place and history, yet unmistakably his own. His hotels have consistently attracted international acclaim, appearing on Condé Nast Traveller’s prestigious Gold List of the world’s finest hotels and interiors.
With such a rich body of work – and a career that has crossed so many creative disciplines – this must-see event is an opportunity not to be missed. Expect insights into his design DNA, the stories behind some of his most celebrated projects, and a rare glimpse into the thinking of a designer who has spent nearly five decades shaping how we dress, live and experience space.
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