The Grafton Academy of Fashion Design was founded in 1938 by Pauline Elizabeth Keller Clotworthy.
Upon her return to Dublin, Clotworthy was advised by Arnotts department store manager Ronald Nesbit, to further educate herself on how to realise her fashion drawings.
She returned to London to train at the British institute of Dress Designing (Hardy Amies was a fellow student).
Shortly after graduating in 1938, Clotworthy established the Grafton Academy, Ireland's first design school and within a year it had staged its debut show.
Early graduates from the college include Neilli Mulcahy, Ib Jorgensen and Clodagh Phillips, all of whom made a significant contribution in promoting Irish fashion culture, both home and abroad.