Jasper Alexander Thirlby ConranOBE (born 12 December 1959) is a British designer. He has worked on collections of womenswear and for the home, as well as productions for the stage in ballet, opera and theatre.
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.[4] Conran designed the wedding dress of Princess Margaret's daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto (formerly Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones) in 1994.[5] He also designed clothes for Diana, Princess of Wales.[1]
In 1989 Conran collaborated with Land Rover Ltd on the interior of the then new Land Rover Discovery.
In 1999, he began designing a signature range of stemware for Stuart Crystal[6] and later for Waterford Crystal. In 2001, he launched a fine bone china tableware collection for Wedgwood.[7]
In 1996, Conran launched a womenswear range for the Debenhams[8] 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,[9] as well as a range of signature fragrances and luggage.[10]
In 2004, Conran designed and launched a three-range fireplace collection for Chesney's. He launched the Jasper Conran Optical in 2008.[11]
Conran is the chairman and chief executive of Jasper Conran Holdings Ltd. He was appointed creative director of The Conran Shop in 2011, and, in 2012, was appointed as the chairman[12] 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,[13] 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.[14]
In 2016 Conran opened his first hotel in the medina in Marrakesh, 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[15] and 1 of 55 'Best New Hotels in the World by Conde Nast Traveller UK.[16] In 2018 L'Hôtel Marrakech was included on the Condé Nast Traveler USA Gold List 2018.[17] Condé Nast Traveler USA[17] and Condé Nast Traveler UK[18] 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.
Conran is gay.[20] 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.[21] In 2010, this list described him as a "National Treasure".[22] In December 2015, he married Irish artist and performer Oisin Byrne.[20]
Conran has bought and restored a string of English period and country houses. In 1984, Conran bought a house in Regent's Park Terrace for £160,000. For a time Conran lived at Flemings Hall in Bedingfield, Suffolk.[23][24] Flemings Hall is an Elizabethan manor house with a Saxon moat. Conran bought it in 2002 from the photographer Angus McBean. He sold the property in 2006. After this, he purchased Walpole House on Chiswick Mall (a waterfront street on the north bank of the river Thames located near Chiswick House and Gardens). He later purchased (and restored over five years) Ven House in Milborne Port, Somerset.[25] In 2017, Conran sold his apartment in New Wardour Castle in Wiltshire and purchased the manor house at Bettiscombe in Dorset, a house that had previously belonged to his step-mother, Caroline Conran.[26][27]
