Nurturing the next generation
Utility chicy inspired by the farm has won an NCAD student the chance to design with River Island
LONDON catwalks and stores are unique for nurturing design talent fresh out of college. Over the years we’ve seen exceptionally talented Irish designers uproot and move across the pond as a result of design initiatives, internships and bursaries.
One that continues to flourish here is the River Island National College of Art and Design (NCAD) bursary.
The idea started out in 2003 as a platform for young, ambitious designers to showcase their work in a commercial environment and has since uncovered raw talents such as Anne-Marie Rigney, — now a designer with the company — who won the award in 2007, and Lucy Moller who was named winner in 2006 and still lives in London and works as design controller for River Island.
This year, Ciara Masterson — a 21year-old design student from Swords has been awarded the coveted €3,500 prize, which will see her do a threemonth, paid placement with the High Street giant’s in-house design studio in September.
‘I’m beyond thrilled’, she tells me over lunch at The Cliff Townhouse on Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green.
‘It definitely doesn’t feel real yet. Me and my sister have always worn clothes from River Island, so I’m overwhelmed that I’ll be designing for a store I love shopping in’.
Masterson’s design piece — a utilitarian-style drawstring dress and plastic trench coat — was chosen by the panel of River Island design consultants that included Moller, and was inspired by the student’s grandfather’s farm in West Cork where she spent the summer holidays as a child.
‘It’s based on the ‘make do’ kind of attitude,’ she explains. The idea of the check on the grey coat came from the fabric worn by farmers back in the day. It’s crazy to think farmers wore suits then.’
FORM and functionality play a big part in Masterson’s design aesthethic. The bursary-winning dress comes with ruching detail and inbuilt drawstrings, so the shape and silhouette can be altered.’
‘I wanted sustainability to play a big part — the concept of preserving it and keeping it from getting damaged, because you wore clothes for years back then.
‘People dealt with what they had, and so I played with the idea, encasing something so delicate and protecting that.’
The designer went back to West Cork in the run up to her graduate fashion collection show — which is also inspired by the farm and which she is designing alongside her River Island NCAD bursary piece — to immerse herself in the surroundings, take pictures and spend quality time away from the city.
‘I went back in August last year and then January this year, with no idea what I was looking for — I just felt like I needed to be there, to take it all in again and to remember why I was so inspired by it in the first place.’
The student speaks eloquently of her lecturers in NCAD and of the head of design there, Angela Kelly, who she says encourages her classes to enter the bursary early on.
Masterson also speaks highly of her peers at NCAD, the fourteen other designers that she has worked alongside and shared a studio space
with for three years — resulting in some great friendships. It’s a far cry from the perceived cut-throat environment you might expect to emerge from such a small and competitive industry here in Ireland. ‘Yes, I was told coming here that it would be a competitive course, but in reality, it couldn’t be more differ-ent Masterson says. We’re all incredibly close friends.’
Masterson currently lives at home with her parents in Swords, Co Dublin.
Moving abroad for her well-earned stint at River Island’s in-house design studio in West London, will be her first leap into the real design world.
It is, I imagine, a daunting prospect. However, the future looks bright for the young designer under the watchful eyes of both Moller and Rigney. Does she have a long term plan? ‘At the moment I need all the experience I can get,’ Masterson says.
‘Down the road, I would love to start my own brand — I know it’s a long way away, but never say never, right?’
A girl can dream.