Jasper Conran


Jasper Alexander Thirlby Conran is an English designer. He has worked on collections of womenswear and for the home, as well as productions for the stage in ballet, opera and theatre.

Early life

He is the second son of Sir Terence Conran, a designer, and Shirley Conran, an author; his parents divorced when he was two years of age. He was educated at Port Regis School and Bryanston School in the 1970s; he also studied at the Parsons School of Art and Design in New York, United States.

Professional career

Conran's first collection was for Henri Bendel in New York City. In 1978, aged 19, Conran designed his first womenswear collection under his own name. The following year he was elected to be part of the London Designer collections. Conran designed his first menswear collection in 1985. Conran designed the wedding dress of Lady Sarah Chatto in 1994. He also designed clothes for Diana, Princess of Wales.
In 1999, he began designing a signature range of stemware for Stuart Crystal and later for Waterford Crystal. In 2001, he launched a fine bone china tableware collection for Wedgwood.
In 1996, Conran launched a womenswear range for the Debenhams chain of department stores in the UK. He has subsequently designed women's accessories, lingerie, hosiery, menswear, men's accessories, childrenswear, and homeware for the company.
Conran has released furnishing, fabric and wallpaper collections for Designers Guild, as well as a range of signature fragrances and luggage.
In 2004, Conran designed and launched a three-range fireplace collection for Chesney's. He launched the Jasper Conran Optical in 2008.
Conran was a Govnernor at Bryanston School from 2007-2009 and a trustee of The Architecture Foundation and the Wallace Collection.
Conran is the chairman and chief executive of Jasper Conran Holdings Ltd. Conran was appointed Creative Director of The Conran Shop in 2011, and, in 2012, Conran was appointed as the chairman where he spent three years conceiving and implementing a strategy to reinvigorate and reposition the business. In March 2014, Conran was appointed Chairman of Conran Holdings Ltd, stepping down in 2015.
Conran published his first book, Jasper Conran Country in 2010. The 300-page photographic essay was completed during a year of exploration around the English countryside.
In 2016 Conran opened his first hotel in the heart of the Medina in Marrakech, L'Hotel Marrakech. In 2017 L'Hôtel Marrakech was listed as 1 of 75 in the Hot List 2017: Best New Hotels in the World, Condé Nast Traveler USA and 1 of 55 'Best New Hotels in the World by Conde Nast Traveller UK. In 2018 L'Hôtel Marrakech was included on the Condé Nast Traveler USA Gold List 2018. Condé Nast Traveler USA and Condé Nast Traveler UK both listed L'Hôtel Marrakech as one of their editors all-time favourite hotels on their respective 2019 Gold Lists.
Conran has served several times on the British Fashion Council, and is a Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts London.

Performing arts

Throughout his career, Conran has pursued his passion for the performing arts—he has designed costumes and sets for fourteen ballet, opera and theatre productions.
Conran collaborated with David Bintley on the Royal Ballet's production of Tombeaux, held at Covent Garden, and a series of productions by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, including The Nutcracker Sweeties, Brahms/Handel Variations, The Shakespeare Suite and Arthur Part I & II. He also designed the set and costumes for Bintley's The Compleat Consort, produced for the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Germany.
Other works include the production of My Fair Lady directed by Simon Callow, Donzetti's opera Maria Stuarda for ENO and Galina Samsova's productions of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty for the Scottish Ballet.
In 1991, Conran won the Laurence Olivier Award for Costume Design for Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal at the Almeida Theatre in London, UK.
Full list of productions
In 2009, he was ranked number 66 in the annual Pink List of 100 influential gay and lesbian people in Britain, published by The Independent on Sunday. In 2010, this list described him as a "National Treasure". In December 2015, he married Irish artist and performer Oisin Byrne.

Awards