John Cavanagh (designer)
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John Cavanagh (28 September 1914 – 24 March 2003) was an Irish couturier of the 1950s and 1960s. A member of the
Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers The Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (also known as IncSoc, Inc Soc and ISFLD) was a membership organisation founded in 1942 to promote the British fashion and textile industry and create luxury couture to sell abroad for the war ...
(IncSoc), his style has been described as reflecting Parisian chic. He designed the wedding dresses for the
Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...
in 1961 and for Princess Alexandra in 1963.


Early life

John Cavanagh strongly identified as Irish, telling reporters that he was born in County Mayo, although his obituary in ''The Times'' states he was born in London. He was educated at St Paul's School. In 1932 Cavanagh was employed as a secretary for the
couturier ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the ...
Edward Molyneux Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...
, first in London, and then in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Molyneux insisted that Cavanagh learn how to draw before employing him. Through trial and error, Cavanagh rose to become supervisor of Molyneux's London branch, before becoming his personal assistant in Paris, where he learned how the haute couture business worked. In 1940, after
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
broke out, Cavanagh left Molyneux to join the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
Intelligence Corps, where he was responsible for
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
and security.Interactive timeline for couture houses & designers during 1947–57
at the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
website
He was
demobbed Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...
in 1946, and the following year became a design assistant for
Pierre Balmain Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (; 18 May 1914 – 29 June 1982) was a French fashion designer and founder of leading post-war fashion house Balmain. Known for sophistication and elegance, he described the art of dressmaking as "the archite ...
, for whom he worked until 1952.


House of John Cavanagh

In 1952, Cavanagh launched his eponymous fashion house, ''John Cavanagh'', at 26
Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running ...
, London. He joined IncSoc in the same year and after just one collection – unheard of at the time, for designers normally had to present at least four fashion collections before being considered for election. His first collection was greeted enthusiastically by the fashion reviewer of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', who said: "He used some of the best fabrics to be found on both sides of the Channel, with a minimum of seams and maximum play with the grain of the materials themselves". The collection included
boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
in piqué for daywear and satin for evening, a ballgown in Irish lace studded with crystals and a white
grosgrain Grosgrain ( , also sometimes ) is a type of fabric or ribbon defined by the fact that its weft is heavier than its warp, creating prominent transverse ribs. Grosgrain is a plain weave corded fabric, with heavier cords than poplin but lighter ...
coat suitable for daytime or evening. The reviewer also noted his Dior model hats, faithfully copied in London by
Simone Mirman Simone Mirman (1912–2008) was a Paris-born milliner based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the British royal family. Early life Simone Parmentier was born in Paris on 18 May 1912 to middle-class Catholic parents. Simone had an ap ...
– the first time Dior had allowed his designs to appear with any other couturier's clothes. Cavanagh's reputation was cemented with his "Coronation" collection for Spring-Summer 1953, marking the
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
. It consisted of dresses made up in sumptuous fabrics designed by
Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...
for the
Sekers Sekers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David Sekers (born 1943), British historian, son of Nicholas * Nicholas Sekers Sir Nicholas Thomas "Miki" Sekers (born Miklós Szekeres, 12 December 1910 – 23 June 1972) ...
fabric mills. Although he had only been in business for a year, members of the English aristocracy ordered his dresses to wear for the Coronation celebrations, such as the gold brocade gown worn by Lady Cornwallis (''née'' Esme d'Beaumont (1901–1969)), wife of
Baron Cornwallis Baron Cornwallis is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holders of the first creation were later made Earl Cornwallis and Marquess Cornwallis, but these titles ...
. Cavanagh was renowned for his elegant tailoring, sense of colour and sense of
chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...
, as well as the high standard and quality of his designs.Glenville, Tony; Anderson, Fiona; and Damon, Emma, for Many of his staff had formerly worked for couturiers such as Nina Ricci, Lucile, and Molyneux. He helped to train Clive, one of the last couturiers to be elected to IncSoc. From 1959, he collaborated with the milliner Reed Crawford. Cavanagh's personal assistant from 1961 to 1966, Lindsay Evans Robertson, described his work as being: ::"Paris in London. There was a lightness of touch, a feminine delicacy, a fragility unlike the work of any of the other London couturiers."de la Haye, Amy, for Cavanagh maintained a purity of line and form in all his designs. He designed clothes appropriate to the lifestyles of his predominantly British and American clientele, such as cocktail and evening dresses, and tailored suits. He aimed for his clothes to look equally good wherever they were worn, be it in London, Paris or New York. He also made two famous wedding dresses; the first was for the
wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
of Katharine Worsley to
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...
, on 8 June 1961. Two years later, Princess Alexandra wore a magnolia lace wedding dress and veil from Cavanagh for her wedding to the Hon.
Angus Ogilvy Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy (14 September 1928 – 26 December 2004) was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a bu ...
. Cavanagh also designed outfits for Princess Alexandra's mother, Princess Marina. As fashion became more youth-focused in the 1960s, Cavanagh attempted to redefine his business by moving into ready-to-wear, but this was not a success and he retired in 1972. His tradition of creating couture for high-profile clients lived on in the work of Toronto-born designer Donald Campbell, who worked for Cavanagh from the mid-1950s on and set up on his own in 1973, later providing several distinctive outfits for
Princess Diana 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 King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanagh, John 1914 births 2003 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Irish fashion designers People from County Mayo