LONDON – Paul Costelloe, Princess Diana’s personal designer who was known for his strong-shouldered looks and luscious fabrics, has died at age 80.
On Saturday, his family issued a statement to media saying they were “deeply saddened” to announce his death following a short illness. “He was surrounded by his wife and seven children and passed peacefully in London,” the statement said.
Costelloe was part of the wave of Irish designers, including Louise Kennedy, that landed in London in the Eighties, becoming part of the flourishing fashion scene. They would pave the way for names such as John Rocha, Lainey Keogh and Orla Kiely.
A tall, somewhat gangly Irishman, Costelloe had the native charm of his countrymen with a constant glint in his eye, as if he could not wait to tell a joke – or share in a laugh. He first showed at London Fashion Week in 1984 and quickly became a fixture on the calendar.
He showed what was to be his final collection, fall 2025, in February.
Paul Costelloe taking a bow at his fall 2025 show at London Fashion Week in February.
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Costelloe would spin that charm – and his royal connections – into a thriving creative and commercial business, which today offers menswear, accessories, home, jewelry and eyewear collections.
His clothes have always had an Irish practicality and wearability, focusing on materials native to Ireland, such as linen and wool. The collections are made in Italy, at a longstanding manufacturer based in Ancona.
At his peak Costelloe was popular with U.S. department and specialty stores and he also operated his own store on Brompton Road near Harrods. He worked from his London studio and maintained a loyal clientele that turned to him for sharp tailoring with a feminine edge.
The Dublin-born designer, whose mother was from New York, studied at the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design and later moved to Paris where he took a course at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris.
Princess Diana wearing a Paul Costelloe look in 1991.
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He later worked as a design assistant to Jacques Esterel before moving to Milan to help Marks & Spencer break into the Italian market.
Costelloe stayed in the northern Italian city, working as a designer for La Rinascente. He later moved to the U.S., working for Anne Fogarty in New York before establishing his own label, Paul Costelloe Collections.
In the early Eighties, one of Princess Diana’s ladies-in-waiting discovered Costelloe’s designs in a shop in Windsor, just outside London, and thought they would suit the young royal.
In 1983, Costelloe was appointed as the personal designer to Diana, and she wore his outfits until her death in 1997. Costelloe dressed the princess in polka dots and printed dresses, as well as his signature bold-shouldered jackets.
Princess Diana wearing a Paul Costelloe dress in New South Wales, Australia in 1988.
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Costelloe was multi-talented and during his career was able to move beyond the catwalk, creating corporate collections for multi-nationals and sports teams including British Airways, Delta Airlines and the Irish Olympic Team, which he dressed for the Athens Games in 2004.
He designed the British Airways uniforms between 1992 and 2004, and became the longest-serving corporate designer in the airline’s history.
