Celia Birtwell and a love for prints!

Celia Birtwell

Celia Birtwell, (born 1941) is a textile designer known for her distinctive bold, romantic and feminine designs, which draw influences from Picasso, Matisse and from the classical world. She was well-known for her prints which epitomised the 1960s/70s. After a period away from the limelight she has returned to fashion.



She studied textile design at Salford School of Art, where in 1959 she met the fashion designer Ossie Clark, whom she later married in 1969 after being reintroduced when they both studied in London.

Muse of David Hockney and partner of Ossie Clark, Celia Birtwell is and was the most important textile designer of her generation. She has been described as the face that launched a thousand prints and her major contribution to the world of interiors and fashion 

The collaboration began with a 1966 collection for the Quorum boutique in London, which they shared with the designer Alice Pollock. It was the Clarks who began the modern catwalk show: the previous procession of modeled clothes was put to music, the London glitterati were invited, and the shows became events. 

Birtwell worked at home designing textiles for Clark, who would use his skill in cutting and understanding of form, together with her knowledge of fabrics and textures to produce haute couture for the 1960s culture. 

From 1967 to 1973 Celia and Ossie were the toast of the fashion industry and dressed everyone from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, Paloma Picasso, Talitha Getty, Patty Boyd, Twiggy and Marianne Faithful all the way to the British Aristocracy. It was during this time that Dave Gilmore drove a van for Ossie before he found fame in his band, Pink Floyd.

With the collapse of her marriage in 1973, Celia left the fashion industry to raise her children and teach at colleges across London, including Chelsea School of Art. She continued to be painted and drawn by David Hockney and it was with his help and support that, in 1984, she decided to start designing again. With a need to have complete control over her designs Celia decided to open a shop in Notting Hill’s Westbourne Park Road and she quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of interiors.

Her distinctive bold, romantic and feminine designs have inspired collections throughout the fashion industry whilst her and Ossie’s style has been present on the catwalk across the globe for the past four decades. It is no wonder, then, that her enduring style has enticed some of UK’s most respected designers, retailers & manufacturers to seek an invitation to collaborate with her on an ever-growing array of fashion and lifestyle products.

Celia was always the single driving force in her business and it was in 2006, prior to the launch of the hugely successful and critically acclaimed collaboration with Top Shop, that she decided to retire from managing the business and hand the reins over to her son, George and daughter in law, Bella.

A style icon with a rich and colourful history she continues to design and delight her fans across the globe.