Paul Costelloe, Princess Diana’s personal designer, passes away at age 80

Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe, who worked as Princess Diana’s personal designer and was a mainstay of London Fashion Week for forty years, passed away on Saturday at the age of eighty, according to a statement released by his family.

Shortly after starting his own label, Paul Costelloe Collections, Costelloe was hired as Diana’s personal designer in 1983. They worked together until her death in a Parisian car accident in 1997.

Costelloe oversaw the creation of all of his collections from his central London studio. In 1984, the city’s biggest catwalk event invited him to participate, and he was there in September to showcase his most recent spring-summer designs.

According to the family statement, Costelloe passed away in London after a brief illness, surrounded by his wife and seven children.

Born in Dublin in 1945, Costelloe first received his training there before relocating to the esteemed Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris and then Milan, another fashion city, where he worked as a designer for the upscale department store La Rinascente.

After establishing his own label in New York for a while, he moved to London, where he and Princess Diana had a successful collaboration. These days, his collections feature jewelry, home goods, purses, and clothing for both men and women.

“Paul had an extraordinary life, spending decades as a prominent player in Irish, UK, and global fashion and business. Simon Harris, the deputy prime minister of Ireland, stated in a statement, “He used extraordinary talent, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to quality to build a hugely successful business.”

“His was and is a quite remarkable Irish success story.”