'Jigs and Reels' TV star dressed the President
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Wednesday November 11 2009
HE has designed for President Mary McAleese, shown his collection to the princess of Saudi Arabia and created the costumes for the hugely successful 'Riverdance'.
Jen Kelly is regarded as one of Ireland's leading haute couture designers who attended school with top fashion magazine 'Vogue' in his schoolbag.
Born in Derry in 1960, Kelly initially attended the city's College of Technology, in pursuit of a career in office management. He later listened to his inner yearnings and attended the National College of Art and Design to study fashion and textile design.
Kelly went on to work in theatre and TV in Ireland, and with production companies in the US and was even able to demonstrate how light he was on his feet by taking part in RTE's 'Celebrity Jigs and Reels' series.
"It got me fit, it's part of my heritage. I liked the friends that I made, not forgetting the money that I raised," he said.
In 1994, he designed the costumes for the Irish dancing phenomenon 'Riverdance', and it was after that big break that he decided to design couture full time, from Ireland.
During his high court action, his counsel said he had created the costumes, which had an "iconic look" one automatically associated with Riverdance.
In 2007, he opened the doors of his Georgian home and fashion headquarters in Dublin's North Great George's Street to showcase his couture collection.
He has designed clothes for debs to brides and older women and was once quoted as saying that he wanted women to know that size was not an issue wen they came to him -- it was his problem, not theirs.
"You have to love women and get into their psyche," he was once quoted as saying. "You need to understand that they want to be beautiful. This way you'll always have business."
Irish Independent
