Fashion Conversations At Design Week Dublin

Irish fashion designers share inspirations and insights at the closing event of the inaugural Design Week Dublin …

Design Week Dublin, in partnership with Range Rover, ended on a fashion high as almost 100 guests gathered at Anantara The Marker Dublin. In “speed dating” style, seven Irish designers – Colin Burke, Sharon Hoey of AndTate, Helen Cody, Francie Duff and Sonia Reynolds of Stable of Ireland, Anna Guerin of The Landskein, Paula Rowan of Paula Rowan Gloves and Lucy Downes of Sphere One – were interviewed by Amanda Bone in lively ten-minute sessions. Guests – fashion lovers, fellow fashion designers, fashion journalists, fashion students – gained new insights into the working lives of these internationally renowned designers as their design integrity and incredible work ethic was revealed. A career in fashion design is not for the faint-hearted, the conversations made clear, but then, they wouldn’t, couldn’t, do anything else.

SEE MORE: See All The Guests At The Design Week Dublin Launch

Galway-born knitwear designer Colin Burke almost studied architecture – he got the points, he got the place – but he decided to take a gap year. And during that time he started putting together a design portfolio, after which he went on to study Fashion at NCAD. His designs still, he explained, “tap into the architectural side of my brain”. His work is about creating a new form, constantly pushing a new silhouette. “I work directly on the stand, build my silhouette through crochet, increasing stitches, decreasing stitches, increasing and decreasing tension.” One of his lecturers at NCAD, he said, described his process as “engineering for the body.” For Colin, it’s about “constantly pushing this silhouette to create a new shape, and less about colour and texture, which come after.”

His network of knitters knitted his designs in Italian cotton yarn for his summer collection, which includes sleeveless tanks, cardigans and, for the first time, skirts, as well as his signature sweaters. When Nicola Coughlan first wore Colin Burke in Vogue in 2024 (she has since worn his designs on several occasions), all fashion eyes were on him. Currently stocked exclusively at Nikki Creedon’s Havana boutique in Donnybrook (whom he credits as a huge contributor to his success), he will shortly be stocked in a US store. Watch this space …

Sharon Hoey of AndTate, based in Merrion Street Dublin, explained how she launched her label with a tailored shirt collection before pivoting to luxury eventwear. “I have been doing bridalwear under the Sharon Hoey name for years, and continue to do so, but in 2019, my daughter-in-law wanted a white shirt for an event so I designed one, and out of that came a collection of tailored shirts under the AndTateShirts label. Then Covid came along and we had to rethink. So we launched a collection of luxury event wear – initially selling via Arnotts and directly – and the response was terrific.” Sharon’s sculptural skirts and tops, and exquisitely tailored dresses proved to be an exciting breath of fashion fresh air. “Initially, it was an all-black collection; I was very comfortable with that (I’m a winter person) but clients want colour.” Sharon segued into delicate pastel colours at first – champagne and pale blue and rose, before embracing jewel tones – innovating with shapes as season followed season. “We make two ready-to-wear collections a year, and we continue to look after our private clients with bespoke designs and bridalwear, of course.”

Sharon explained how, over 35 years in business, she has always been part designer, part businesswoman. “I’m always working on three collections. It’s relentless!” A new layer to her business is her membership of the very proactive Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) and working closely with the European Fashion Alliance on how best to implement sustainability “passports” for fashion garments, an EU requirement. The process is, Sharon says, “very detailed, and it can be challenging,” but she knows that remaining open to change is vital to stay at the top of the fashion business. “I’d like more physical space to create,” she says. With her business in growth mode, she will need it soon.

Helen Cody describes herself as “a mad artist indulging herself making beautiful things” – whether an ethereal dress for the Oscars or a Communion dress for a little girl, a dreamy wedding dress – or her new made-to-measure denim collection. “Mine is as slow as slow fashion can be,” she said, describing her small atelier in Harold’s Cross in Dublin where she and her two dressmakers design and sew all day long, often using the same fabrics as those used by celebrated fashion houses like Dior and Chanel, sourcing individual zips and buttons, adding couture details to even the simplest silhouette. Her inspirations come from art, architecture (her husband Rory Murphy is an architect), travel (especially Paris).

The made-to-measure denim collection was inspired by her clients’ lifestyles – many of them shared how, when not dressing for an occasion or event, they spent a lot of time wearing jeans and a sweater or shirt. The lightbulb went on: Helen began to think jeans, about a woman’s body and specifically how the waistband of jeans is always cut straight across her back, when a curved waistband would surely be better. The dark blue denim is deadstock from Dior – as Helen points out, her clothes were “sustainable” before sustainability was in vogue – pockets are silk-lined and bear the initials H and a C. The denim collection, which includes bustiers, jackets and dresses, is size-inclusive, and sits alongside a dreamy summer collection of white broderie anglaise blouses and dresses.

When Francie Duff and Sonia Reynolds launched Stable of Ireland in the Westbury Mall in Dublin 2 in 2016, they didn’t have “a big business strategy or a masterplan,” but rather a desire to present beautiful clothes and homewares which celebrated Irish textiles, specifically wool and linen, in a sophisticated way. Their biggest inspiration was Ireland itself. “We are so proud of Ireland,” said Francie, “so invested in the the landscape, the art, the literature – it’s a privilege to delve into every aspect of Irish culture and life.”

Stable of Ireland’s Art Series originated with artist Patrick Scott, a friend of the duo, and began life as a simple scarf. There followed linen scarves, robes and shirts, tweed jackets, rain macs, tableware and table linen, wool throws and cushions – all made in Ireland, mostly in Dublin. They now have over 30 makers working with them across fashion and homewares. “We present Ireland in a way that we can be very proud of,” said Sonia. “Irish clients, as well as tourists, are proud to gift or to buy, and both customers want to know the backstory of Irish linen, tweed and wool.” Maintaining a fashion brand is a serious business, but there is huge joy to be had too: “It’s so rewarding when you can show other people what you have done and they understand it.” In the same way that Sonia and Francie reimagined the Irish Tricolour with their vast linen scarf some years ago, they have trained their designers’ eye on the shamrock. “The shamrock as an emblem is hugely important to Irish people – we wanted to reimagine it, modernise it.” The Shamrock collection features silk dresses, skirts and tops in a small shamrock print, and a larger abstract print, both bordered with stripes, in three colourways. “They fold into nothing,” noted Sonia, “a Ryanair favourite.”

Anna Guerin of The Landskein (pronounced landskyne) explained how the name of her label evokes both the Irish landscape, skeins of yarn and the “skeins” of Celtic folklore and philosophy, which connect past to present. Anna had worked in fashion design and manufacturing for many years before she launched her label – and had seen how scaling a fashion brand can lead to compromise in design, fabric, quality. Establishing a small independent brand with transparency and integrity was her goal, as was creating a modern narrative for the Donegal tweeds she would use in all of The Landskein’s tailored coats and blazers. Responsible, sustainable design is at the heart of The Landskein: Anna doesn’t design for seasons but for lifetimes – “not for trends but for humans” – as she puts it.

In The Landskein’s showroom in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, she shared how she hears countless stories from women who still have and wear their mothers’ and grandmothers’ coats, and how she feels privileged to be part of that tradition. Amanda Bone, who inherited her grandmother’s coat, agreed with Anna about the “inherent sustainability of a timelessly tailored coat: look after it and it will truly last a lifetime.” Anna explained how surprised she was that Donegal tweed resonated quite so strongly in New York, Paris and Milan; particularly the latter. Anna had to pinch herself when Giorgina Siverio of San Carlo dal 1973 in Turin, one of the most revered boutiques in Italy, came onto her stand at Paris Fashion Week last year and bought the collection. That, and a substantial mention in The Financial Times, has helped set The Landskein on an exciting path.

Paula Rowan of Paula Rowan Gloves explained how she has always been fascinated with hands and loves to dress them with a second skin of ethically sourced leather. While Paula designs classic driving gloves in every size and colour, her showstoppers are no ordinary gloves – they are elbow-length, fur-trimmed, shoulder-length, ruched sleeves, avant garde, extraordinary. Paula draws all her designs (currently the design count stands at 250) and travels every single month to Naples to visit the workshop where the gloves are made.

She recounted how a shoot styled by Katie England for Vogue Italia in 2016 put her small glove company on the map, triggering calls from about 20 stylists for celebrities, including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner, inclusion in other international publications and, in 2023, a role in the iconic House of Gucci film. “There they were, shooting in Rome,” she recalled, “surrounded by some of the best leather studios and glove shops in Italy, but they sought out gloves by an Irish glove-maker.” Fame is an interesting thing. “When a celebrity wears my brand it doesn’t necessarily translate into extra sales,” said Paula, “but it does make people look at the brand in a different way.” Paula, who bought a leather goods shop in the Westbury Mall from her brother in the 1990s, continues to operate from there. Celebrities are one thing, she says, international clients another, but she hugely values her loyal Irish following. “About 65 per cent of my clients are Irish.”

Lucy Downes of Sphere One celebrated 25 years of her luxury cashmere company last year. After her degree in fashion in NCAD, Lucy won the postgraduate Knitwear Designer of the Year and with it a scholarship to Japanese company Shima Seiki, world leaders in knitwear technology. She worked for ten years for Donna Karan in New York, before returning to Dublin and setting up Sphere One in 1998. Her collection of exquisitely fine cashmere with its playful, unusual, witty and original design details is stocked in independent retailers all over the world. Lucy designs her collections in her studio in Dublin 4, while the collection is knitted in Kathmandu in Nepal. “There, they have such fine-gauge knitting machines, they can achieve the finish you need for luxury cashmere.”

Lucy, who grew up between Co Wicklow and Dublin, draws inspiration from the Irish landscape, the flora and fauna – the colour of a river, the hawthorn, foxglove, moss, stone and sky. Indeed, she is so so influenced by the botanical world that she enrolled in a horticultural course at the Botanic Gardens with her good friend, architect Tom de Paor. “When I was at NCAD, we would go to the Botanic Gardens weekly to draw. NCAD was very good at instilling the idea that you should take an inspiration and genuinely go into it, and make what comes of it design-wise. You may not like what I do with Sphere One, but it is completely authentic and original. And it’s true that if you specialise in something, as others today have touched on, international buyers will respond to it.”

After the seven thought-provoking fashion talks, the audience had the opportunity to meet the designers, touch and try on pieces from their latest collection, and make connections for future commissions. With so much food for thought, guests repaired to The Marker Lounge for more coffee and conversation …