Jasper Alexander Thirlby Conran (born 12 December 1959) is a British designer. He has worked on collections of womenswear and for the home, as well as productions for the stage in ballet, opera and theatre.

Early life

He is the second son of Sir Terence Conran, a designer, and Shirley Pearce, an author; his parents divorced when he was two. He was educated at Port Regis School and

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

in the 1970s; he also studied at the Parsons School of Art and Design in New York, United States (US).

Career

Conran's first collection was for

Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances, chocolate and gifts. Its ...

in New York City. In 1978, aged 19, Conran designed his first womenswear collection under his own name. The following year he was elected to be part of the London Designer collections. Conran designed his first menswear collection in 1985. Conran designed the wedding dress of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

's daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto (formerly Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones) in 1994. He also designed clothes for

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. In 1989 Conran collaborated with Land Rover Ltd on the interior of the then new Land Rover Discovery. In 1999, he began designing a signature range of

stemware Stemware is drinkware where the bowl stands on a ''stem'' above a ''foot'' (base that allows to put the vessel down onto a table). It is usually made from glass, but may be made from ceramics or metals. The stemware is intended for cool bever ...

for Stuart Crystal and later for

Waterford Crystal Waterford Crystal is an Irish manufacturer of crystal glassware, especially cut glass products. It is named after the city of Waterford in Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was cl ...

. In 2001, he launched a fine bone china tableware collection for

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

. In 1996, Conran launched a womenswear range for the

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...

chain of department stores in the UK. He has subsequently designed women's accessories, lingerie, hosiery, menswear, men's accessories, childrenswear, and homeware for the company. Conran has released furnishing, fabric and wallpaper collections for Designers Guild, as well as a range of signature fragrances and luggage. In 2004, Conran designed and launched a three-range fireplace collection for Chesney's. He launched the Jasper Conran Optical in 2008. Conran was a Governor at

from 2007 to 2009 and a trustee of The Architecture Foundation (2010–2012) and the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

(2007–2015). Conran is the chairman and chief executive of Jasper Conran Holdings Ltd. He was appointed creative director of The Conran Shop in 2011, and, in 2012, was appointed as the chairman where he spent three years conceiving and implementing a strategy to reinvigorate and reposition the business. In March 2014, Conran was appointed chairman of Conran Holdings Ltd, stepping down in 2015. Conran published his first book, ''Jasper Conran Country'' in 2010. The 300-page photographic essay was completed during a year of exploration around the English countryside. In 2016 Conran opened his first hotel in the medina in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, L'Hotel Marrakech. In 2017 L'Hôtel Marrakech was listed as 1 of 75 in the Hot List 2017: Best New Hotels in the World, Condé Nast Traveler USA and 1 of 55 'Best New Hotels in the World by Conde Nast Traveller UK. In 2018 L'Hôtel Marrakech was included on the Condé Nast Traveler USA Gold List 2018. Condé Nast Traveler USA and Condé Nast Traveler UK both listed L'Hôtel Marrakech as one of their editors all-time favourite hotels on their respective 2019 Gold Lists. Conran has served several times on the British Fashion Council, and is a visiting professor at the

University of the Arts London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

Performing arts

Throughout his career, Conran has pursued his passion for the performing arts — he has designed costumes and sets for fourteen ballet, opera and theatre productions. Conran collaborated with David Bintley on the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

's production of ''Tombeaux'', held at Covent Garden, and a series of productions by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, including ''The Nutcracker Sweeties'', ''Brahms/Handel Variations'', ''The Shakespeare Suite'' and ''Arthur Part I & II''. He also designed the set and costumes for Bintley's ''The Compleat Consort'', produced for the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Germany. Other works include the production of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' directed by

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...

, Donzetti's opera '' Maria Stuarda'' for ENO and Galina Samsova's productions of ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' and '' The Sleeping Beauty'' for the Scottish Ballet. In 1991, Conran won the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

for Costume Design for

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's ''The Rehearsal'' at the Almeida Theatre in London, UK. Full list of productions *The Rehearsal, Jean Anouilh, 1991 (Laurence Olivier Award, 1991) *My Fair Lady, Simon Callow, 1992 *Tombeaux, David Bintley, 1993,

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

*Sleeping Beauty, Galina Samsova, 1994, Scottish Ballet *Brahms/Handel Variations, David Bintley, 1994, Birmingham Royal Ballet *Stravinsky Symphony in C, 1994,

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

, Munich *The Complete Consort, David Bintley, 1994, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Munich *Swan Lake, Galina Samsova, 1995, Scottish Ballet *Edward II, David Bintley, 1995, Birmingham Royal Ballet *The Nutcracker Sweeties, David Bintley, 1996, Birmingham Royal Ballet *Maria Stuarda, Donizetti, 1998,

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

*The Shakespeare Suite, David Bintley, 1999, Birmingham Royal Ballet *Arthur Part I, David Bintley, 2000, Birmingham Royal Ballet *Arthur Part II, David Bintley, 2001, Birmingham Royal Ballet *'' Within the Golden Hour'',

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Early life Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at th ...

, 2019, Royal Opera House

Personal life

Conran is gay. In 2009, he was ranked number 66 in the annual Pink List of 100 influential gay and lesbian people in Britain, published by ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''. In 2010, this list described him as a "National Treasure". In December 2015, he married Irish artist and performer Oisin Byrne. Conran has bought and restored a string of English period and country houses. In 1984, Conran bought a house in Regent's Park Terrace for £160,000. For a time Conran lived at Flemings Hall in Bedingfield, Suffolk. Flemings Hall is an Elizabethan manor house with a Saxon moat. Conran bought it in 2002 from the photographer Angus McBean. He sold the property in 2006. After this, he purchased Walpole House on Chiswick Mall (a waterfront street on the north bank of the river Thames located near Chiswick House and Gardens). He later purchased (and restored over five years) Ven House in Milborne Port, Somerset. In 2017, Conran sold his apartment in New Wardour Castle in Wiltshire and purchased the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

at Bettiscombe in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, a house that had previously belonged to his step-mother, Caroline Conran.

Awards

*1982: Fil d'Or International Linen Award *1983: Fil d'Or International Linen Award *1986: Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council *1987: Fashion Group of America Award *1991: The Laurence Olivier Award for 'Costume Designer of the Year' –

's "The Rehearsal" *1991: The British Fashion Council's British Collections Award *2003: 'The Prince's Medal', Homes and Gardens Classic Design Award *2004: Honorary doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

*2005: The Design and Decoration 'Objects of Desire' Award *2006: Honorary doctorate at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. *2006: Homes and Gardens 'Classic Design' Award *2008: Appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to retail industry. *2011:

Condé Nast Traveller ''Condé Nast Traveller'' was published by Condé Nast Publications Ltd, from The Adelphi, City of Westminster, London. It is a luxury travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), location ...

:Innovation & Design Award for 'Style on the Move' with Tripp Luggage"Innovation & Design Awards 2011: the winners"
''

Bibliography

* ''Country''. Conran Octopus, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conran, Jasper 1959 births Living people British fashion designers People educated at Bryanston School Parsons School of Design alumni British gay artists Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

High fashion brands British brands Clothing brands of the United Kingdom People educated at Port Regis School LGBTQ fashion designers 20th-century British LGBTQ people 21st-century British LGBTQ people