Who is Róisín Pierce, the Dublin designer embraced by alexa chung? Read on …
Dublin-based Róisín Pierce is the designer behind Alexa Chung’s outfit for last night’s Met Gala. For the 2023 Met Gala – the theme of which was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty – Chung wore a transparent floral detail top and coordinating skirt with an appliquéd floating flower overthrow by Pierce. The look is from the designer’s Two For Joy collection and has all the trademarks of a Róisín Pierce look: ethereal, diaphanous and romantic.
The piece is heavy on ornamentation. “The top is made up of multiples of satin crepe squares, patchworked together with overlaid delicate daisy-stitched organza. The squares are manipulated and pulled to create a highly textured centred flower throughout the piece. We appliquéd these larger organic smocked flowers that were joined together with bows that float on top, forming a collage of pretty details. The skirt is made up of strips of a delicate star-flower embroidery set on a gauzy organza that floats. High-shine satin crepe strips are [also] smocked to form these little swirling petals that hug the waist and legs,” Pierce explained to British Vogue.
Main image above and image below: Getty.
Alexa Chung pictured on the red carpet wearing a look by Dublin designer Róisín Pierce.
But what else do we know about the Irish designer? Firstly, it made total sense that she would design a creation for the Lagerfeld themed event. The connection between the late Chanel designer and Pierce is strengthened by the fact that Pierce was a winner of the prestigious Chanel Prix des Métiers d’Art in 2019. The textile design graduate was a finalist in the LVMH prize in 2022 and was also name-checked by Forbes in its 30 Under 30 list as a rising star in art and culture.
Chung, who began talking to Pierce via Instagram, was “immediately impressed by her frothy, intelligent designs” she told British Vogue. It’s not surprising that Chung – who has previously worn Christian Siriano, Diane Von Furstenberg and her namesake label on the Met Gala red carpet – would be a fan, as Pierce’s romantic collections belie a sturdy feminist undercurrent. Pierce’s award-winning collection MNÁ I BHLÁTH was a nod to the Magdalene Laundries in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the unmarried mothers who not only had to endure abuse, but also manufactured ceremonial clothing for communions, baptisms and weddings.
In a first for an independent Irish deigner, Pierce showcased her latest collection Beware, Beware at The Theatre of the American Church during Paris Fashion Week in March: a collection which again navigated a tension between hyper-feminine creations and female sexuality through the lens of Irish history. Pierce, who is dedicated to zero-waste techniques, made the pieces alongside her mother Angie and three generations of lacemakers, according to the Irish Times. See more of Pierce’s collections at RoisinPierce.com.
Róisín Pierce debuted her collection Beware, Beware at Paris Fashion Week in March of this year, a first for an independent Irish designer.
