Pat Crowley (fashion designer)

Conor, born 1928, was a partner in Kennedy Crowley.

This was a business founded by his father, which then merged to become Stokes Kennedy Crowley accountancy firm (now KPMG).

Pat Crowley (17 May 1933 – 16 December 2013) was an Irish fashion designer.

Amongst her clients were the Irish president Mary Robinson.

Patricia Crowley, née Vernon, was born in Taylor's Hill County Galway on 17 May 1933.

She was the eldest of seven children, her four brothers John, Robert, William and Ray and her two sisters Elizabeth and Anne.

Herbert Scott Vernon, Crowley's father, was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo and worked as a Bank of Ireland agent.

Her mother, Netta Vernon née Morrissey, was from Charleville, County Cork.

Herbert Vernon died at the age of 60, his death led her mother to move to America to earn money for the family.

Here, she started working as a housekeeper, this being her first job.

As Pat's brothers were still in school when their father died, Netta earned enough money working to send home to put them through college.

Crowley met Conor Crowley, from Stillorgan, at an international rugby match in Lansdowne Road.

Crowley studied fashion design at Grafton Academy in Dublin, which opened in 1938.

It is located at the Grand Canal Dock.

She was pushed into going there by her mother, although her father never approved of women getting an education.

When Crowley graduated from the Grafton Academy, she went on to work as an air hostess for Aer Lingus.

At the time, being an air hostess was considered a very glamorous job, it provided her with the opportunity to travel and be on the first transatlantic flight out of Ireland.

IB Jorgenson was one of the designers of the Aer Lingus uniforms.

He also attended the Grafton Academy and later became good friends with Crowley.

When Crowley met her husband, it was expected that she would stop working to raise a family, however she decided to continue working.

She was not ready for a family and decided to go on the pill, and to get a job.

The two married in 1957, but delayed having a family as Crowley wanted to continue her work.

It was rare for a married women to have a job in that time period, but in 1960 Crowley began working for Irene Gilbert.

Irene Gilbert was another leading Irish fashion designer, she is famous for her work and friendship with Grace Kelly.

She designed multiple of Grace's outfits, which Crowley would have also worked on.

She perfected the designing skills that she learned at Grafton Academy, for example, Draping.

Crowley learned a lot about the fashion business from Gilbert.

She learned more about fashion design itself, but also sales in fashion, marketing, and management.

Crowley travelled to the United States multiple times doing sales and correspondence for Gilbert, this prepared her a lot for when she decided to open her own business.

Crowley worked for Gilbert for seven years, until her first child was born.

In 1968 the couple welcomed their first child, Vernon.

They later had two more children, Fiona and Lisa.

The family lived in Dolly's Grove, a 62-acre stud farm in Dunboyne, County Meath.

Crowley then launched her own knitwear business in 1968.

She then set up her workshop and store on Duke street in the city centre of Dublin.

Crowley's reputation enhanced through the stocking of well known designers such as Valentino, Thierry Mugler and Ungaro to supplement her own designs.

Her innovative and creative designs led to a greater demand from her clients.

She employed 600 knitters across the country to meet expectations.

Her innovative spin on the traditional woollen jumper was the standout of her early designs.

Crowley was becoming an iconic figure in the fashion industry and was starting to make appearances through the media and TV shows, one in particular being "Head To Toe" which was the prime fashion TV show on RTÉ.