Newbridge Silverware at 90 — and auctioning one of Princess Diana's dresses

Newbridge Silverware is turning 90. But there's a second milestone this year, as they prepare to auction one Diana's dresses on site. Mary Cate Smith hears the history from the factory floor - and the stories behind the iconic dresses in the costume museum

Sun, 19 May, 2024 - 07:31

Mary Cate Smith

Six pearls severed from a Bvlgari dragon bracelet lay strewn in the car that held Princess Diana in her final moments.

Forged in nature, imperfect and iridescent, those six single jewels became a perfect metaphor for the People’s Princess.

In the village of Kiltoom, the fourth son of a seamstress felt that loss, not knowing that years later, in 2024, he would be rifling through Diana’s clothes and accessories, getting them ready to exhibit them at The Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Kildare.

“It was such a tragic loss when she died so young. The whole world felt it, she could have done so much.”

Fashion was in Martin Nolan’s blood but it was Diana Spencer’s humanitarian work that truly captivated the young Athlone man.

“Princess Diana was such a beautiful human being — kind, considerate, a warm friendly person. She was one of us. She helped AIDS patients, worked with children’s charities, and landmines. She jumped on causes that were not popular. These were things that people were uncomfortable talking about and she made it ok.”

Martin Nolan of Newbridge Silverware with a piece belonging to Princess Diana

If upward mobility was the American Dream, Martin was its embodiment. He won the Green Card lottery in 1989, a bellhop by night, stockbroker by day. But he had fire in his belly and it was not being sated.

“I was working on Wall Street. I didn’t feel fulfilled in my career. I’m not motivated by money. I love stories. People ask me if I collect anything. I collect stories. I love to discover and join the dots.”

After meeting Darren Julien at an auction of Johnny Cash’s estate, he joined his auction house as the “finance guy” and eventually became CFO and executive director.

But Martin still had a nose for money, and heard of an Irish man who had bid over 400k on Audrey Hepburn’s famous little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. That man was William Doyle, CEO of Newbridge Silverware.

“William Doyle is a visionary. I heard about him being the underbidder so I contacted him and we chatted.”

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

Martin was coming home at Christmas time for his sister’s wedding and went shopping for a meaningful present which led him to Newbridge.

“When my parents got married in 1957, they got a canteen of Newbridge cutlery which was minded better than the children. It was polished, put back in the case and it came out twice a year; the stations and Christmas.”

The museum wasn’t built at that stage, but the two men struck up a friendship and when Martin came across the infamous Happy Birthday Mr President dress worn by Marilyn Monroe and then Kim Kardashian, he knew exactly who to contact.

“The dress needed a home. It needed to be displayed under very specific settings.”

He may not have had a museum at the time but that didn’t faze William Doyle.

“In six weeks, we were building the museum. A few weeks before the grand opening we had no staircase. It was a moment of madness. I probably wouldn’t make such a rash decision now.”

It was a genuine case of if you build it, they will come. That was 2016. Now, eight years later, Newbridge celebrates its 90th birthday.

To mark the milestone, Martin Nolan has chosen the Museum of Style Auctions to showcase his latest collection of Diana’s dresses — they will go under the hammer later this year.

It is expected to draw crowds to Newbridge, where they too can experience the history of celebrities and ordinary people alike.

As you walk into the visitor’s centre, you are greeted with a sculpture paying homage to all the people who have worked there. An idea carved up by William Doyle to commemorate the skilled workers who have gone
before him.

“Newbridge’s legacy to me? It’s all those people. 1500 people have worked here in total. We gathered all their names recently and carved all of those names on the monument.”

William Doyle is the real deal. I ask him about money — of course I do — but the thing he’s most interested in is connecting with his customers.

“It generates a lot of interest, having something tangible that people can connect to. I saw the power of a dress with the very first one we bought, Audrey Hepburn’s dress from Charade. I know very little about women’s fashion but I saw the value in that.”

PEAKS AND TROUGHS

Touring around the museum, I’m reminded of some of my happiest times as a child, watching old movies with my dad.

“You seem to be particularly emotional,” William notices.

I am. With iconic costumes like Liza Minnelli’s short shorts and halternneck waistcoat from Cabaret, Tippi Hedren’s dress mangled in parts from the pecking of Hitchcock’s titular birds, these clothes are portals into the past for me.

Doyle, who is softly spoken and unassuming in devilishly stylish tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, saw immense value in these garments and recognised it as a way to “enhance the Newbridge brand”.

Delving deeper into the history of the brand on the tour is fascinating. I’m struck by the wall of service and how long some people have been working at the factory — some as many as four
decades.

Tippi Hedren's dress from The Birds (centre)

Newbridge began in 1934 as a cutlery company. Each set came with a 55-year warranty. It started in the garrison town of Newbridge, and continues to manufacture its products from that factory.

“People started at 13 or 14 and they retired at 65. And then many of them continue to work after 65. We have one guy here who’s got well over 60 years of service. He still comes back every now and then to do a little bit.”

The atmosphere and pride in their work brings them back, says William.

“There’s a spirit in a place where you form a type of family, created by all those people. There’s not too many companies in Ireland left like that.

“Ours was one of the first of six manufacturing companies to be funded, aided, and assisted by the state. It’s probably the only one left surviving.”

Over the years, the business had peaks and troughs but William was determined to keep the company his father had worked so hard for afloat.

A successful butcher and proprietor of Ireland’s first-ever delicatessen, Dominic Doyle sold his pork manufacturing plant and invested in the Newbridge cutlery business.

Just as Martin Doyle had style in his DNA, William had a natural inclination towards entrepreneurship. He started as a cutlery salesman and by 21, he was catapulted straight into the deep end when his father’s health began to wane. He knew he wanted to make some modern updates.

“We would not exist if we hadn’t been fortunate over the years. We survived many crises, including the Second World War. We were nearly done in the early 90s when there was quite a collapse in the demand for high-quality formal dining and we were saved by discovering that we could make jewellery from the offcuts.”

Before sustainability was a buzzword, the Newbridge factory had been reusing and recycling.

“We couldn’t afford new machines and we desperately had to find a new product to help us survive. We realised we could make jewellery from the waste material.”

Supermodel Sophie Dahl models Newbridge Jewellery

SUPERSTARS

Newbridge Silverware flourished in the 90s, attracting supermodels Naomi Campbell, Yasmin le Bon and Sophie Dahl as its ambassadors. So, what was Naomi like?

“She was one of the nicest people we ever worked with. Naomi did not in any way live up to the reputation. She’s quite a small person but she has long legs — that gives the appearance of being very tall.”

So, no diva behaviour? How disappointing.

“There is a funny story behind that. She was a little bit late. We were anxious about whether she would turn up at all and when she did, we all let out a sigh of relief.

“Naomi went into the dressing room with the stylists who we had to fly in from all different parts of the world. An hour went by; nothing. Four hours went by and she wanted a bottle of gin. An expensive one.”

“So we sent someone out to get the bottle of gin and we thought; ‘Oh, good God.’ We had paid for the most part upfront. Then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, she appears and says, ‘let’s get this done.’”

Naomi was “unbelievable,” William says.

“I’d been at fashion shoots before with not-so-professional models that could take a whole day to try and capture one or two images. With Naomi, we had everything we needed in an hour.”

And the bottle of gin?

“That was for Bono.”

Since Martin and William first met, the museum has acquired Bob Dylan’s jacket, the Beatles’ suits, Grace Kelly’s dress from High Society and so much more.

GETTING THE MEASURE

Casually mentioning how he hosted Kurt Cobain’s family isn’t to boast, William genuinely had no idea how much people adored the deceased Nirvana frontman.

“Kurt’s mother, sister and daughter came together for the first time here in years. His mother died very soon after that. I wasn’t aware of the extent of adoration that so many people have for Nirvana. People came from so many different parts of the world to be there.

“One of those guitars eventually got sold for 4 million. His music was haunting and extraordinary. I’ve become a fan since.”

Something that stands out in the museum is just how tiny these larger-than-life characters were.

“Small people make for big characters and great actors,” says William. I can’t help but think back to Martin Nolan listing the waist sizes of different actors, the smallest being Cher.

“Grace Kelly was 22 inches, Audrey Hepburn 21. We sold a pair of jeans for Cher — 19 inches. That was the tiniest I’ve seen. There was all this talk about Marilyn Monroe being fat but she was about 112 pounds at her heaviest, probably a 26-inch waist.”

That impossible standard women were expected to live up to was felt by Princess Diana, who spoke openly about her struggle with bulimia in a BBC interview with Martin Bashir. She will be remembered for that, and so much more.

And now, we all have a chance to walk in her satin green Kurt Geiger shoes for a few thousand euro.

Don’t have the budget? Visit the museum and see the star-spangled Murray Arbeid dress she wore twice (a bold move at the time).

Imagine how she felt holding the violet leather clutch bag outside the Taj Mahal, where eyebrows raised over her solo appearance. And contribute to a cause that meant a lot to Diana, Muscular Dystrophy.

Sketches of Diana's wedding dress, on display at Newbridge

“These garments are works of art. It’s a tangible asset, much more interesting than a stock or a bond which I used to sell. It’s trading on a memory and making people smile.”

Coming from Martin, the man who helped Kim Kardashian borrow Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Jean Louis dress for the Met Gala, and William, the man who hosted the Cobains at his Kildare home, they both know exactly how to make people smile.