FASHION Shaping Irish Fashion

shaping irish fashion

It has been well worth the wait to see what The Council of Irish Fashion Designers had in store for us at their Autumn-Winter Collections Presentation live-streamed runway show. Each of the designers produced deeply original and inspirational collections, demonstrating a spirit of resilience and determination alongside a thoughtful understanding of changing lifestyles, sustainability and creativity. Here are some of the show’s highlights:

Éadach by Sara O’Neill

A range of limited edition prints from designer and illustrator Sara O’Neill, inspired by her grandmother’s stories, Irish myth and legend, and her native north coast of Ireland. Her luxury garments feature hand-drawn illustrations printed on silk to create richly coloured contemporary designs. These designs are inspired by Ireland’s darker stories, history and heritage of strong women – luxury with a rock ‘n’ roll bohemian edge.

Deb Fanning

Each season Deb Fanning creates a limited-edition collection of exquisite hats and headpieces for weddings, race meetings and other special occasions. She designs a range of styles that are feminine, fun and enchanting, with an element of drama, offering a colour palette that ranges from classic monochrome to soft pastels to vibrant rainbows.

Leonora Ferguson

Leonora’s sculptural and playful headpieces are always certain to delight. Her signature lightweight swirling wire lace creations are a rare blend of elegant, avant-garde, futuristic, show-stopping examples of modern millinery. Her process involves traditional hat blocking, lace making with wire, beading, and a delicate balancing act getting the piece to remain stable on the head while staying true to the design.

Caoimhe Murphy

Feminine but with an edge, Caoimhe’s distinctive creations are accented through the use of delicate materials such as fine silks, luxurious satins and dreamy tulles. These are sometimes juxtaposed with leather and often embellished and manipulated by hand. Her designs are driven by colours and textures found in nature, made contemporary through the use of technical fabrication techniques.

Delphine Grandjouan

For Delphine there are two key inspirations – dance and drama. Her choice of fabrics reflects and accentuates these elements – floating silk chiffons, shimmering satins, soft alluring crepes, delicate lace or structured duchesses, majestic taffetas and rich deep velvets. Sculpting, draping, sometimes hand-painting, she seeks to make a woman discover ‘her untarnished self for just a little while’.

Hazel Greene

Visual artist and textile designer, Hazel Greene creates a range of scarves in silk that have an elegant drape and richness of colour. Each of her designs starts with a selection of one of her original watercolour and silk paintings, which she translates into interesting blends and then prints onto luxurious Italian silk. The scarves are hand-finished to the highest quality with rolled edges.

Michelle Kearns

Interior architect turned self-taught hat-maker, Michelle has a penchant for creating sculptural and engineered pieces. She uses wire, feathers and beading to realise her daring visions. Her very unique and dynamic headpieces are both glamorous and avant-garde and will add an interesting edge to any outfit.

Cleo Prickett

Cleo designs and handcrafts every element of her collections in her studio at Durhamstown Castle. Her collections demonstrate a wide experience of working across various fashion disciplines. She uses distinctive design and development techniques to subtly push the boundaries of contemporary women’s wear. Her designs are technically flawless as well as aesthetically beautiful and offer a distinctive version of investment dressing.

Ailish McElroy

Using the time-honoured skills of millinery, Ailish McElroy creates both classic and contemporary headpieces using luxurious, quality materials. Formerly a graphic designer, she uses her love of colour, contrast and texture to push creative boundaries. Mainly self-taught, she has steadily established herself as a popular milliner and provides a discreet consultation service for exclusive commissions.

Sarah Murphy

Working from her studio in the Wicklow Mountains, Sarah Murphy has created these sophisticated and feminine full-skirted dresses – a modern twist on vintage classic – sure to be a standout choice in any woman’s wardrobe. Incredibly well-imagined and executed garments that are distinctly innovative but with timeless appeal.

Wendy Louise & Maggie Napier

Maggie Napier is a flamework glass artist who makes contemporary glass jewellery. Her process, known as ‘lampworking’ or ‘flameworking’, entails the heating and shaping of individual glass rods in a torch flame. Wendy Louise is a Longford based milliner who specialises in bespoke statement, sculptural hats. Her love of colour and ability to create striking wearable shapes made the perfect base to combine with Maggie’s handmade sculptural glass components.

craft design

In recent decades, as the fashion world became obsessed with speed, volume and mass production, some of our traditional crafts that had been passed from one generation to the next were on the verge of extinction.

The Council of Irish Fashion Design, along with the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, have developed a model of cultural collaboration. Our leading fashion designers partnering with traditional artisans and highlighting their craftsmanship is proving an effective way for brands to shine a light on sometimes under-appreciated skills.

Preserving and protecting the skills and knowledge of traditional crafts is a growing challenge. Highlighting and promoting our skilled artisans will hopefully ensure that we have sufficient craftspeople to transmit these unique skills to the next generation.

Helen Hayes & Laura Quinn

Glassblower and designer Laura Quinn teamed up with Helen Hayes who is known for combining simple silhouettes with intricate finishes. This dress was made from over half a kilometre of folded and manipulated ribbon to give a pleated effect that works in harmony with the linear quality of the glass rods. Rods were made with a lampworking technique to form the bolero-style piece that wraps around the body and sits layered over the dress.

Caroline Mitchell & Noeleen Frain

Knitwear designer Caroline Mitchell collaborated with calligrapher and botanical artist Noeleen Frain. The shape of the dress was inspired by Chinese kimonos to signify the origins of calligraphy in China. Caroline knitted the garment in a silk yarn, then Noeleen hand-painted flowers in each panel. Each flower was then embellished by Caroline with hand beading, embroidery and silk ribbon embroidery.

Leonora Ferguson & Imelda Connolly

This creation by milliner Leonora Ferguson and woodturner Imelda Connolly is made from a beech tree that fell on Imelda’s family farm in County Meath. Turned on a wood lathe in the shape of a bowl, the pattern was cut away along the main grain lines. Light moves through the cut-outs, leaving shadows of these patterns on the face of the wearer.

Charlotte Lucas & Nora Finnegan

Each Charlotte Lucas piece is artfully crafted using delicate fabrics, embroideries and lace to covey a timeless, feminine and ethereal nature. For this collaboration, her ‘Danu’ dress, inspired by the Celtic goddess Danu (‘The Flowing One’), is crafted from flowing silk chiffon. An insert of Kenmare Lace was appliquéd to the dress with the exquisite lace handiwork of the talented Nora Finnegan. The headdress also features two Kenmare Lace butterflies.