Celebrating an era when style mattered

AT FIRST glance, Newbridge and Hollywood wouldn’t appear to have a lot in common — the Kildare town and Tinseltown would seem to be worlds apart both geographically and culturally.

However, the Newbridge Museum of Style Icons, the permanent exhibition of celebrity memorabilia and artifacts related to stars of the silver screen (which was opened by Newbridge Silverware in 2007) has brought a dusting of glamour to this midland county.

The museum, now one of the top five free tourist destinations in Ireland, has rapidly evolved into a consuming passion for Newbridge CEO William Doyle, who built it in two months after making his initial purchase of an Audrey Hepburn LBD (by Hubert De Givenchy) from the movie Charade. Since this first acquisition, the collecting bug has bitten deep and William Doyle has succeeded in creating a hugely impressive collection of items that have either been worn or owned by a galaxy of stars including Liz Taylor, Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Michael Jackson, Liza Minelli, Rita Hayworth, Princess Diana, Ingrid Bergman, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Tippi Hedren, Kim Novak, and the Beatles.