business for a year, members of the English aristocracy ordered his dresses to wear for the Coronation celebrations, such as the gold brocade gown worn by Lady Cornwallis (née Esme d'Beaumont (1901–1969)), wife of Baron Cornwallis. Cavanagh was renowned for his elegant tailoring, sense of colour and sense of chic, as well as the high standard and quality of his designs. Many of his staff had formerly worked for couturiers such as Nina Ricci, Lucile, and Molyneux. He helped to train Clive, one of the last couturiers to be elected to IncSoc. From 1959, he collaborated with the milliner Reed Crawford. Cavanagh's personal assistant from 1961 to 1966, Lindsay Evans Robertson, described his work as being: "Paris in London. There was a lightness of touch, a feminine delicacy, a fragility unlike the work of any of the other London couturiers." Cavanagh maintained a purity of line and form in all his designs. He designed clothes appropriate to the lifestyles of his predominantly British and American clientele, such as cocktail and evening dresses, and tailored suits. He aimed for his clothes to look equally good wherever they were worn, be it in London, Paris or New York. He also made two famous wedding dresses; the first was for the wedding of Katharine Worsley to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, on 8 June 1961. Two years later, Princess Alexandra wore a magnolia lace wedding dress and veil from Cavanagh for her wedding to the Hon. Angus Ogilvy. Cavanagh also designed outfits for Princess Alexandra's mother, Princess Marina. As fashion became more youth-focused in the 1960s, Cavanagh attempted to redefine his business by moving into ready-to-wear, but this was not a success and he retired in 1972. His tradition of creating couture for high-profile clients lived on in the work of Toronto-born designer Donald Campbell, who worked for Cavanagh from the mid-1950s on and set up on his own in 1973, later providing several distinctive outfits for Princess Diana. References External links 1914 births 2003 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Irish fashion designers People from County Mayo