Pauline Clotworthy (17 May 1912 – 22 December 2004) was an Irish teacher of

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

Life

Pauline Clotworthy was born Pauline Cecily Elizabeth Keohler in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 17 May 1912. Her father was Robert Nesbitt Keohler, a solicitor, and his second wife, Ethel (née Thompson). Robert's first wife was Ethel's elder sister, Edith Thompson, who had died after the birth of her daughter in 1902. Robert Keohler changed his name to Keller by deed poll two months after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in October 1914. Clotworthy was educated at Alexandra College, and then went on to attend the

Metropolitan School of Art The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

in Dublin from 1931 to 1932. One of her lecturers, Seán Keating, unsuccessfully attempted to stop her from creating fashion sketches during his life drawing classes. Following her interest in fashion, Clotworthy moved to London to attend Browns Paris School of Fashion on Bond Street. Taking advice from the advertising manager of

Arnotts Arnotts can refer to; * Arnott's Biscuits, an Australian biscuit and salted snack food company * Arnotts (Ireland), a department store in Dublin, Ireland * Arnotts (Scotland) Arnotts was a department store in Glasgow, Scotland. It became part o ...

in Dublin, Ronald Nesbitt, she returned to London to enrol in the British Institute of Dress Designers. There she learnt pattern-making, cutting, and garment construction alongside fellow students such as Hardy Amies. She completed the course in May 1938. She noticed that there was no equivalent training school in Ireland, and with the help of her father, she went about establishing

The Grafton Academy The Grafton Academy of Fashion Design is a third level college based in Dublin, Ireland. It offers an undergraduate 3-year full-time Diploma course in Fashion Design as well as short courses in Fashion Design, dressmaking, pattern drafting, garme ...

of Dress Designing and Millinery at 6 St Stephens Green. Her first 15 students begun their training in 1938, and within a few years the annual student show became a feature of the Dublin society calendar. Many prominent designers taught at the school, including

Neillí Mulcahy Neillí Mulcahy (27 February 1925 – 6 May 2012) was an Irish designer. In 1962, Mulcahy co-founded the Irish Haute Couture Group with Ib Jorgensen and Irene Gilbert. Family and education Neillí Mulcahy was born in Dublin on 27 February 1 ...

, whilst others were pupils such as Ib Jorgensen. As the only such fashion design training in Ireland for a number of years, Clotworthy was described at the academy's 70th anniversary as the "backbone of the Irish clothing trade". She married Neil Desmond Clotworthy (1917–1992) in 1940. He was an officer in Irish army, who was born in Saskatchewan, Canada to Irish parents. The couple had two daughters and one son. Clotworthy died on 22 December 2004 at the

Blackrock Clinic Blackrock Clinic ( ga, Clinic na Carraige Duibhe) is a private hospital in Blackrock, Dublin. It is associated with both the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Dublin. History The hospital was founded by surgeons Jos ...

. She is buried at the Friends' burial ground, Blackrock.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clotworthy, Pauline 1912 births 2004 deaths Irish fashion designers Artists from County Dublin Irish women fashion designers People educated at Alexandra College Alumni of the National College of Art and Design