Louise Kennedy

Career Kennedy studied at the College of Marketing and Design, now part of Dublin Institute of Technology and the Grafton Academy, before setting up her own business in 1983, according to her official website. (Some sources say 1982,

In 1990 she was commissioned by Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, to design a purple moiré outfit for her presidential inauguration. That same year she was chosen to exhibit at the London Designer Show.

In 2009, she designed new judge's robes for the Irish Law Courts, marking a break from the traditional British robes that previous judges had worn. In 2011 Kennedy started offering bespoke wedding dresses. The outfits, apart from two custom-made ball gowns for state banquets, one by Kennedy and the other by Jill Howard, were bought as ready-to-wear, and chosen by Sabina with the assistance of her friend, the film and theatrical costume designer Joan Bergin, in order to showcase the best of Irish design, with Bergin saying "It was not my intention to commission a special wardrobe, but to show Irish women what was on offer out there." The outfits were widely acclaimed in the Irish press, with the Irish Independent dedicating an article to the fact that Sabina wore three separate Kennedy ensembles in one day. In 1998, she replaced Ronit Zilkha as Cherie Blair's favourite designer. Other clients include the Duchess of Edinburgh, Meryl Streep, Kirsty Young, and Enya.

In December 2014 Kennedy joined a group of mainly British designers, artists and businesspeople (including David Bailey, Roja Dove and Stella McCartney) at 10 Downing Street to mark their roles as ambassadors for David Cameron's GREAT Britain campaign, which was designed to promote the United Kingdom as a tourist destination, a place for study, or somewhere to do business.

Awards Kennedy was named Irish Designer of the Year award in 1989 and 1990.

Throughout her career Kennedy has been recognised for her suit and coat designs, winning awards specifically for these in 1985 (Best Irish Coat Collection), 1991 (Best Suit and Best Coat Award), and 1993 (Best Coat and Suit Collection Designer of the Year).

On Saturday 21 November 2017, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) awarded Kennedy an honorary fellowship, which is the highest honour bestowed by the RCPI. This award is reserved for world leaders in medical science and those who have made an exceptional contribution to society.

In popular culture In 2010 Kennedy was one of six contemporary Irish fashion designers featured on a set of Irish postage stamps issued by An Post. The other designers featured were Paul Costelloe, Lainey Keogh, John Rocha, Philip Treacy and Orla Kiely.

Along with Costelloe, she was a celebrity guest judge for the 2013 final of RTÉ Television's Craft Master show.

Kennedy's Dublin showroom neighbours the former home of another Irish designer, Sybil Connolly.