Image: JJ Donnelly with model wearing her winning look Young Designer of the Year show. Photograph by Andres Poveda.

Over 250 retailers, restaurants, bars and hotels took part in Dublin Fashion Festival, which ran from the 5th to the 11th of September. The citywide festival is organised by DublinTown, a not-for-profit organisation that are also behind popular festivals Dine in Dublin and Dublin at Christmas.  The organisation acts as a collective of 2,500 businesses in the city centre, working to create an attractive, welcoming, vibrant and economic successful space for Dublin city, and the Dublin Fashion Festival is a key element in reaching this goal. Now in its seventh year, the festival celebrates all things fashion and brings a real sense of excitement and theatre into shopping and socializing in Dublin. This year’s programme included in-store events, exhibitions, on-street catwalk shows and glam-stations. The most anticipated events, however, were the night-time runway spectaculars taking place in iconic locations around the city.

Hundreds of fashionistas descended upon the striking columned building for the fourth annual Young Designer of the Year fashion show. Twelve hopefuls for the title of Young Designer of the Year 2016 presented their looks. Six of the competitors hailed from NCAD (Nino Sanaia, Grainne Walley, Karla Bowden, Aisling Duff, JJ Donnelly, Ailbhe Griffin) and three from Ulster University (Jordan Robinson, Hannah Vail, Laura Ward) with the remaining designers coming from Limerick School of Art and Design (Jack Roche), Griffith College (Sarah Murphy) and the Grafton Academy of Dress Design (Naomi Ajetunmobi).  Guests included Exposé presenter, Glenda Gilson, stylists Irene O’Brien and Lorna Weightman and Men’s Fashion Ireland founder, Adam Gaffey. Models from 1st Option Management sported a daring swoop of under-eye liner by No7 makeup that extended far beyond the lash-line. Hairstyling was courtesy of Toni & Guy, who gave the models twisted top-knots placed, very literally, at the very top of their heads.

The show was hosted by Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney. Their label, Lennon Courtney, is five years old and the show included six looks from their Dunnes Stores collection.  This year’s Face of the Festival, Darren Kennedy, was also in attendance. It is the first year that Dublin Fashion Festival has selected a man to be Face of the Festival, with previous title-holders including Pippa O’Connor and Angela Scanlon. On the night, Kennedy told the crowd that the show was “an amazing platform” for the young designers to demonstrate what they’re capable of in front of an esteemed judging panel, which consisted of fashion photographer Barry McCall; TV3 Xposé producer, Debbie O’ Donnell; owner of The Design Centre, Ashling Kilduf; head of personal and private shopping at Brown Thomas, Caroline Hanratty; and head of personal and private shopping at Arnotts, Clara Halpin. The head judge was Bairbre Power, fashion editor at the Irish Independent.

 

 

JJ Donnelly was crowned the winner. Donnelly, who studied at NCAD, was awarded a €2000 bursary from West Coast Cooler and the opportunity to shoot a portfolio with judge Barry McCall. This opportunity is massive, as McCall is one of Ireland’s most influential photographers with work appearing in Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Tatler. Donnelly was certainly a deserving winner, with an incredibly polished outfit. Careful consideration had clearly been given to the cut, construction and fabric of her look. It consisted of a long, straight-cut charcoal grey coat with a soft fur trim wrapped around the upper arms, a light grey knit turtleneck with a sleek black pleated midi skirt. Donnelly teamed this with black high heeled ankle boots and accessorised the look with a plain black bag clipped on with a silver belt at the waist. When photographed by Emily Quinn of Distinct Model Management, the look also included a bold colourful necklace.

Aisling Duff, recent Fashion Design and History of Art and Design graduate from NCAD, told me “it’s been incredible meeting so many people in the industry and getting my work and ideas out there. It’s something I’ll never forget and definitely don’t take for granted”. Duff’s look was an oversized, super-chunky merino wool jumper in warm yellow, hand-knitted with size 16 needles, paired with warm honey-yellow wool culottes with neoprene panels and a detachable apron pocket which could also be used as a bag. She credits her theoretical studies exploring the relationship between storytelling and fashion as her inspiration for this piece.

Duff focused on emotional and psychological storytelling, particularly the confessional poetry of Sylvia Plath. She was drawn to the “dreamy, surreal imagery of honey, bee hives and sweets” and wanted to toy with the idea of “young, feminine vulnerability” by using off-whites, candy pinks and warm yellows.

The power of controlling and harnessing these emotions are important to her work. Duff is hoping to change popular perceptions of knitwear, to present it as something “which can be unexpected and bold and cool”. She would like to do a MSc in knitwear and gain hands-on experience with designers. The ultimate goal is to have her own brand.

For young designer Karla Bowden, 26, the show was an exciting highlight in her burgeoning career. Her piece, a structural white neoprene and leatherette full-length dress, was bold, yet clean and minimalistic. She aimed to reflect simplicity across her collection, explaining that she wanted the clothing to frame the body, while allowing the wearer a sense of freedom. Bowden’s inspiration was grounded in the American artist Sol LeWitt, famous for his conceptual wall-drawings and the “spontaneous creativity” of Dutch label Viktor & Rolf. Bowden has just finished studying Fashion Design in NCAD, following a year in the Drogheda Institute of Further Education where she completed her portfolio. In an email to Tn2, Bowden says she is hoping to immerse herself in Dutch fashion and culture in Holland and would love to work for Viktor & Rolf.

Also present on the night was last year’s Young Designer of the Year, Katie Donoghue. Donoghue, who studied at Griffith College, describes winning the award as “every young designer’s dream” and credits it with giving her the confidence she needed to advance in her career. Her design, a soft, sumptuous and textured look inspired by the Wicklow Mountains, was used as the image for this year’s Fashion Festival. Donoghue’s graduate collection will be stocked by Om Diva, a small boutique on Drury Street. All speakers on the night stressed the importance of nurturing home-grown talent. Face of the Festival, Darren Kennedy drew attention to the “amazing affinity with textiles” that Irish designers have. This was certainly visible at the Young Designer show, which Kennedy said “puts a lot of the bigger shows to shame”.

Another much anticipated event, the Creative Quarter Fashion Show, took place on Friday night. The so-called Creative Quarter, which stretches from South William St to George’s St, plays host to chic independent boutiques and unique fashion retailers. The show was held in the Powerscourt Centre and hosted by Darren Kennedy. Styled by Jules Fallon, managing director at 1st Options Models, the show promoted the diverse offerings from the area’s retailers. Models such as Irma Mali and Teo Sutra showcased the fashions of Om Diva, The Design Centre and designer Jennifer Rothwell.

This varied selection of looks began with children’s wear. This was followed by a selection of bold formal looks, including a V-neck fuchsia jumpsuit with three-quarter-length sleeves and an off the shoulder silk floor-length gown in a striking geometric print. Monochromatic looks, including a sheer black ruffled blouse tucked into loose white trousers, and a black dress with a fluffy white bolero jacket and pointed stilettos, also turned heads. The sleek hair was styled by Davey Davey hair salon, while No. 7 gave the models a glamorous and sophisticated look, with bold lipstick and a soft smoky eye. Bridal wear, sequined gowns and men’s suits also made an appearance. The diverse show provided a fitting end to the festival, leaving no doubt about the variety and quality of fashion on offer in this small city.