On the latest episode of Insights presented by Sean O'Rourke, Sean spoke with Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe about his incredible career, ongoing ambition, and approaching 80th birthday. Listen back above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Kicking things off with a long-debated question, Sean asked the designer how he pronounces his name.
"It's Paul Cost-ello in England because I charge a lot over there, and it's Costelloe in Dublin where I'm cheap as chips," he smiles.
Born to a Limerick father and a New Yorker mother, Costelloe says he was raised by two "colourful characters" in a house filled to the brim with five older siblings.
His father, a tailor, was a big influence on Paul growing up, with the designer insisting that he had "magic hands".
"I get very sentimental over my father," he admits, "he had these wonderful hands. He had a factory in Rathmines making raincoats - a very successful business - and he'd touch [a piece of material] and say, 'oh no, there's a bit of polyester in there'. He had a natural gift for materials."
Having initially studied at the Grafton Academy of Fashion Design, Costelloe moved to Paris early in his career before moving on to Milan and New York.
Eventually, he returned to Ireland to set up his own label, Paul Costelloe Collections, in 1979 with a family-run operation.
In 1983, he began creating designs for Diana, Princess of Wales, and continued to work with her until her untimely death in 1997.
"We had a lot of retail outlets in the UK and one was in Windsor, where Princess Diana was based," the designer recounts.
When Diana's lady-in-waiting walked into the small shop in Windsor, she spotted some suitable designs and a meeting in Kensington Palace was arranged.
"I was brought upstairs carrying about seven or eight garments, which... I think I fell because my feet are size 13," he muses. "I met the boys at the top of the stairs and Princess Diana, and we went into the front room, the drawing room."
"I looked out at Hyde Park and I said, 'God, this is it, Paul, you have made it'."
Remembering the time as a moment of "historical contentment", the Dubliner says that Diana was a dream to work with.
"Above all, she was very human, she didn't act like a Princess - [she was] probably the most important woman in the world at that time. She made a very good cup of tea and some scones. I was very happy to sit down beside her and munch away. I was hungry in those days!"
While Costelloe mostly dressed Diana for formal occasions, one of the most memorable outfits was one that caused a bit of a stir. A chiffon skirt became slightly see-through when backlit, which the designer says was seen as "slightly risque".
Overall, the designer says that he believed Diana to be lovely, if not a little lonely.
"The boys were incredibly well behaved when she brought them into the drawing room. She'd introduce me, and they were all very polite and very handsome. But she seemed lonely. He was never there, old Charlie boy was out on the town, you know?" he laughs.
"She was probably... I wouldn't say insecure because she came from a very solid family in the sense of their position in the UK. She needed love, definitely, as we all do. Particularly in difficult moments and bringing up those boys, but she brought them up very well, and she loved them incredibly."
Listen back to the full interview on Insights with Sean O'Rourke above.
