FASHION Abroad Spectrum

abroad spectrum words lisa o’brien

Irish designers making waves overseas

Ireland has a long-standing tradition of exporting some of its greatest talent, with some of our brightest minds seeking opportunities and experiences in pastures new. The contribution of the Irish diaspora to the economies and cultures of the various communities and countries where they settled is a defining element of our nation’s past and present. Many creatives have a desire to seek new information, gain knowledge and explore novel possibilities. Those who are willing to move out of their comfort zone and take a punt on moving abroad can face challenges and uncertainties that help them become more resilient and mature and, most importantly, allow them to see new possibilities in life. In the following pages, we celebrate the amazing achievements of some of the Irish fashion designers who left Ireland to seek out success abroad and have gained global recognition for their work.

Simone Rocha

Simone started her career in fashion as a teenager, assisting her father, the celebrated Hong Kong-born, Dublin-based fashion designer, John Rocha, in his studio. She completed a BA at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, before going on to further her studies at Central Saint Martins, London. In 2010 she showed her graduate collection at the Tate Modern gallery and made her debut at London Fashion Week the same year.

Since graduating, her brand has gone from strength to strength and her collections have gained her some of the most prestigious stockists in the world including Dover Street Market, Matchesfashion, Ikram, I.T, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. Her Irish stockist is Havana in Donnybrook, Dublin.

In 2015 Simone opened her first store in London on Mount Street and her first USA store in Soho, New York in 2017. Accolades have included British Fashion Awards for ‘Emerging Talent, Ready-toWear’ (2013), ‘The New Establishment Award’ (2014), ‘British Womenswear Designer Award’ (2016) and Harper’s Bazaar ‘Young Designer of the Year Award’ (2016).

Proud of her heritage, inspiration from Ireland and China as well as art, literature, nature and family, are reflected in her work. Her AW20 collection was inspired by John Millington Synge’s play, Riders to the Sea, which is about life on the Aran Islands.

For her SS21 collection, featured here, each look portrays its own story and takes us on a dreamlike journey: the essence of true escapism. Draped in an armour of pearls from headpieces to handbags, Simone Rocha has yet again won our hearts with this empowering, feminine collection.

SML London

New kid on the block, Stephen McLaughlin from Donegal, launched his label, SML London in late 2020. He studied at Limerick School of Art and Design where his graduate collection was based on the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the American artist known for his raw gestural style of painting in the 1980s. Following his graduation in 2016, the talented young designer built up experience in luxury, ready-to-wear, and accessory brands in London. He

worked with top Irish designer, Sharon Wauchob as well as House of Holland and J&M Davidson.

This Donegal exile has created a very clever business model. By crafting everything to order, the need for excess stock is eliminated and each garment is designed with a low-waste sustainable manufacturing principle. The pre-order custom SML service also allows the customer to switch up the colour and fabric of the chosen design.

SML has created an exciting, new sustainable brand, made up of timeless silhouettes; an ode to elegance and class. We look forward to seeing what Stephen brings to his future collections.

Sharon Wauchob

Hailing from the village of Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, Sharon Wauchob has brought an unconventional edge to the world of contemporary luxury design. Shortly after graduating from Central Saint Martins, London, the avant-garde Japanese designer, Koji Tatsuno asked her to join his Notting Hill atelier. When he moved to Paris, she went with him where she worked on his fabric developments and collections.

She then went on to work as a designer at Louis Vuitton before starting her eponymous line in Paris in 1999. Her collection was first shown on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar in 2003 and she is one of the few Irish designers to have achieved such an accolade. Her style is distinguished by a unique experimental use of materials and fabrics combined with solid tailoring. Sharon moved back to London in 2016 and launched her menswear collection in Spring 2019.

For her most recent collection, featured here, Sharon looked to her own archive for inspiration to reignite stories and tales from past collections. She reworked and refined old shapes using some rare, luxurious fabrics amassed during her time in Paris. Through her collaboration with Bulgari, pieces from the brand’s Heritage Collection complimented the garments and certainly added a touch of glitz.