Michael Donnellan (fashion Designer)
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Michael Donnellan (1915–1985) – best known as Michael of Carlos Place and simply Michael – was an Irish-born fashion designer who headed the house of
Lachasse Lachasse was a British couture firm operating from 1928 until 2006, making it one of the longest surviving high fashion houses in London. Part of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc), it is notable for being a major tr ...
from 1941, before running a successful eponymous couture house in London from 1953 to 1971. From the 1960s on, he combined the role of couturier with consultancy to mainstream fashion houses, most notably acting as a key consultant to
Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...
. His obituary of 1985 in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' described his label as "the last great English tailoring house", saying also that Donnellan's death: "marks the end of an era". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' fashion editor Alison Adburgham said he was best described as the
Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...
of London.


Early life and career

Michael Donnellan was born in Dublin and trained as a surgeon before making the move from medicine to fashion. After wartime service, he joined the fashion house of Lachasse as chief designer – he was named head of its operation from 1941. In this role at Lachasse, he was following in the footsteps of two other great London couturiers – Digby Morton and
Hardy Amies Sir Edwin Hardy Amies Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was a British fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies (fashion house), Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to El ...
. Although he was attached to a large and respected fashion house, he was already a name in his own right – Michael of Lachasse – and was included among London's "big 10" in a feature in ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' in 1953 about the run up to the
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. He was skilled at spotting nascent fashion looks and was the first to work with the British 'supermodel' Avril James – refining her style and making her his early design 'muse'. James subsequently became one of the most familiar faces in British modelling – working for, among others, John Cavanagh – and became known in the British press as: "the girl who said no to Dior".


Establishment of eponymous label

In 1953, Donnellan established his own label – from here on in he was almost universally known as 'Michael of Carlos Place', or simply 'Michael'. His showroom's location – Carlos Place – had previously been the premises of another leading light of the London couture scene Peter Russell, who sold his London business interests to Donnellan prior to emigrating to Australia. A year later, Michael of Carlos place joined the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc) – although Donnellan had been aligned with IncSoc since 1950 as head of Lachasse.


Brand hallmarks

The hallmark of Michael of Carlos Place clothes was their exceptional tailoring, and this attracted clients such as
Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (''née'' Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress and singer known for her performances in operettas and musical theatre, musicals. Born into a theatrical family, she made her professional dé ...
and
Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...
as well as many society women. In common with other IncSoc members, Donnellan designed in fine traditional fabrics such as
tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...
, but also used softer and more tactile materials such as jersey and leather. He was among the first designers in the 1950s to develop the "three piece model", a jacket, skirt and tailored matching blouse – showing this in 1957 for the first time and, it is said, inspiring the trend in Paris. By 1958, he had developed this concept further, also introducing much longer jackets that narrowed towards the hem. Reviewing the Michael fashion collection for autumn/winter 1958, ''The Times'' reviewer said: "To examine the way seams are set, the grain of the fabric used, is to understand why such couture clothes are described as being 'built.' It is a fetish with Michael that his clothes must do something for the wearer, must flatter the woman".


Later career

Donnellan was not only a skilled interpreter of couture trends but had "a prescient understanding of fashion change". Some fashion reviewers noted his impact on the precision tailoring of Clive – who trained initially with Michael and brought the
Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...
look into couture throughout the 1960s. As hemlines rose and customers moved from couture to ready-to-wear, Donnellan moved too. Although he did not close his couture house until 1971 – a period described by ''The Times'' as "fashion anarchy" – he had begun consulting to mainstream and mid-price retailers, notably Marks & Spencer, from the 1960s. In April 1965, it was reported that he had "edited' Marks & Spencer's first ever export collection in his role as the brand's consultant, an association announced at the start of that year. In his work for the dynamic mainstream fashion industry that was developing in the UK during this era, he was highly influential. His obituary notes: "he updgraded the cut and cloth of ready-to-wear clothes and became an overall advisor on mass-manufacture style."


Ready-to-wear and sewing patterns

In common with his fellow IncSoc member Mattli, Michael appeared as an expert on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
programme ''Clothes that Count'', a 1967 series that focused on the burgeoning home sewing audience and gave advice on using and adapting sewing patterns. Michael – whose own designs appeared within the ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
'' couturier pattern series as 'Michael of London' – assisted a home sewer to create a suit that fitted her body shape by providing advice on customising the pattern. While some London couture designers were being criticised by the press by the late 1960s as being out of touch with the fashion trends, Donnellan was still considered influential. A 1970 review of his spring collection notes his skillful presentation of a new silhouette and quoted his guidance that if women didn't show the knees, they must define the hips. The review concluded: "It was a collection for 1970, entirely relevant to now – no nonsense about the twenties, the thirties nor the fifties." Donnellan was well placed to understand the move towards ready-to-wear – especially since he had been working with Marks & Spencer – and had begun including a few readymade items within his own couture shows from 1968, getting them cut and sewn in his Carlos Place workroom and charging around half the price of his couture lines. Donnellan closed Michael of Carlos Place in 1971; his obituary notes that he didn't blame the market or the times for this, instead citing the shortage of skilled tailors available to British couturiers.


Legacy

The
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
holds some examples of Michael outfits. His former premises, 2 Carlos Place, part of an historic listed building, is still a part of the London couture scene as a few doors down at number 8 is the London showrooom for the French fashion designer
Roland Mouret Roland Mouret (born 27 August 1961) is a French fashion designer. Training and early career Mouret was born in Lourdes, France, where he grew up in a devoutly Catholic family. His father was a butcher, and his mother worked as a waitress and a ...
.


References


External links


Michael portrait
by
Norman Parkinson Norman Parkinson (21 April 1913 – 15 February 1990) was an English portrait and fashion photographer. His work revolutionised British fashion photography, as he moved his subjects out of the studio and used outdoor settings. While serving ...
at National Portrait Gallery
Michael of Carlos place outfit at Victoria and Albert Museum archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnellan, Michael 1940s fashion 1950s fashion 1960s fashion 1970s fashion Irish fashion designers 1915 births 1985 deaths Businesspeople from Dublin (city) British fashion designers