Louise Kennedy is not the only Irish designer to have a lot of loyal English fans, it's just that hers are so high profile. After all, you don't get much more newsworthy than Cherie Blair and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, both of whom have been spotted wearing Louise Kennedy. Still, it's not just this pair of headline makers who are delighted that the Tipperary-born designer opened a new shop in London's exclusive Belgravia in March, as there are plenty of other Louise Kennedy fans across the Irish Sea.

"We got a great reaction to the store from day one," says Kennedy, whose range was previously only available in stores such as Liberty, Selfridges and Austin Reed in Britain. "We honestly thought it would be a question of asking people whether they were aware of the label in the beginning, but instead we got people stopping in taxis telling us how delighted they were that we had brought the whole collection over." She estimates that some 70 per cent of her London customers are existing clients.

Those buying Louise Kennedy pieces for the first time tend to be slightly younger than Kennedy's usual client base. "I put that down to the wealth in this country. We get younger women just dropping in and buying key pieces like the cashmere sweaters at £700 or suede jackets - they tend to go for the really directional pieces in the collection." Much of this has to do with the location of the new store, which is located just two minutes away from Sloane Street in a part of Belgravia that has recently been attracting a lot of press notice.

"Belgravia village is a really destinational place, which has been attracting a lot of notice as an up-and-coming area to shop in recently. There's Koh Samui across the road and Victoria Hervey has just opened up nearby." Kennedy also reckons that a lot of her new customers are lured by the double fronted shop windows and the shop's design. Decorated in soft shades of ivory and ecru with a blonde carpet, the collection of Phillip Treacy hats and Lulu Guinness bags - even the Andrew Martin upholstery and the creamy columns - are surprisingly reminiscent of her Merrion Square salon.

"It's nice, a lot of customers who have been to Ireland have picked up on the similarities," smiles Kennedy. "I was lucky to have both John Redmond, who worked on the design of Merrion Square, and decorator John Meagher working with me on the West Halkin Street store too... There's a handwriting to decor, just as much as there is to clothes."

Opening up in London, which is always a risk given the strong competition, was not a decision taken lightly by Louise and her team. "We've been thinking about opening in London for three or four years, primarily to have the collection all housed in one place here," muses Kennedy. "When you are selling to a retailer, the buyer will have a certain budget and an idea in mind as to how she wants it to look. The shop was an opportunity for us to show our clients just how we designed the collection, by displaying it in colour blocks and so on, and also an opportunity for them to be shown the collection by our girls who understand it so well."

Still, with the price of rents in Belgravia, there was no question of the London store being merely a showcase. Kennedy is sure that future wholesale orders will reflect their new presence in London, and there has already been substantial press about the store, with more on the way. Of course, there are also loyal Louise Kennedy customers in Britain who are ensuring that sales are high. One customer asked UK sales manager, Una Mason, to hold a scarf while she drove down from Cardiff.

The lead actress in Nora, Susan Lynch, fell in love with a few numbers after wearing them for a fashion shoot and has since returned to the store. Then there's Sophie Wessex who came in and placed a substantial order just after the store opened. With fans like that . . .

Louise Kennedy, 11 West Halkin Street, London SW1. Tel: 0207 235 0911