WORDS Isabella Davey

Ireland’s alright. For all the insatiable desires for 3-in-1’s and the trivialities that differentiate a “gaff” from a “session” (judging on the drugs taken or the company kept, of course), Ireland has its blooming merits, with a budding fashion scene blossoming to the fore. Students exercise this skill to show-stopping ends, jewellers reiterate traditional Celtic symbolism, and established Irish designers frill-up the derriere of global phenomenon Lady Gaga. These days, our designers are being glorified by the fash pack, coke clan and celebrity simpletons alike: J.W Anderson, the continental bounder and Topshop’s new toyboy; Simone Rocha, hitting a homerun for Irish designers at London Fashion Week; and Philip Treacey’s designs adorning 36 heads at the royal wedding.

What the future holds for Irish design seems not only positive and enriching, but collaborative as well. Mindsets wishing to capture traditional design heritage and simultaneously incorporate modern aesthetic are certainly a growing concern, with Edmund McNulty’s handmade knitwear reflecting the changing Irish landscape while embodying traditional manufacturing principles in the creation of each piece. The jeweller Muirean Walshe is of the same mind, her first collection centring on the modernisation of the Tara brooch, recreated in acidic anodized aluminium.

Certainly Ireland has left behind mottled tweed and gypsy-wedding hysteria, but with the current economic climate, are we not drawing deeper into the dichotomy of filthy rich or really fucked? (With most of us languishing in the latter).

Irish designer Sean Byrne says “[There is a] focus here in Ireland now on quality as opposed to quantity, and I have been able to establish a core clientele who appreciate my design values.” Sean does concede that the recession is a double-edged sword, “making [the designer] work harder and focus a lot more on design aesthetic. While the Celtic tiger eradicated a focus on craftsmanship, now I push for perfection.”

Although Irish design appears to be marching to the rhythm of reinvention, we see businesses creating spaces for these collectives to expand and explore, rather than fester and weaken as previous decades spelt for the Irish design scene.

The Chocolate Factory located on Kings Inn Street considers itself a “new creative community”; this hub plans to provide a breeding ground for talent to intertwine with one another, with photography and design studios side by side with art, music and dance. While it may just sound like one idyllic Grecian orgy of aesthetes, this conglomeration of ideas and thoughts allow the kind of like-minded influence usually void in a world known for biting the hand that feeds.

Project 51, whose strength lies in their jewellery sector, is similar in approach to The Chocolate Factory, housing studios for designers within their premises. Atelier 27, much like Project 51, is pioneering the promotion of Irish design by providing a welcome stage for surfacing labels.

For all the Gareth Pugh’s of London squeezing their models into tattered bin bags, and the Isabel Marant fillies behaving French and scowling at everyone, Ireland should not be overlooked as a presence at the cutting edge, even if it stays somewhat native for the time being.

To quote Ireland’s most debonair of rogues, Oscar Wilde, “One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” While most of us can resemble a Sasquatch at the best of times, the creations by our own flesh, blood and fuinneamh surely constitute wearable works of our generation.

Investment: Alison Connelly, Sorcha O’Raighallaigh

Introducing: Edel Traynor, Colin Horgan

Irrelevant: Pauric Sweeney

WORDS Isabella Davey