A little less DRAMA

Peter O’Brien evokes quiet confidence with exquisite fabrics and structured silhouettes for his latest SS19 Dunnes Stores collection

REFINEMENT, authenticity and attention to detail are sought-after attributes in a digitalised fashion age.

There are designers who champion overconsumption, churning out some five collections a year. Then there are creative folk like Peter O’Brien, who still design less than 20 pieces in a outing and whose unwavering design values haven’t budged in 30 years.

At the unveiling of his new SS19 collection for Dunnes

Stores, the Irish designer shared his vision in a personal way alongside his old friend, stylist Catherine Condell, and a handful of models and press.

Where to begin? With a burst of sorbet colours that gave everyone in the room an overwhelming longing for spring.

There was a time when O’Brien’s girls wore only black and navy. There is some of the latter — a softly tailored, navy wrap skirt and a crisp, high-collared blouse woven through with pops of raspberry, ivory and oyster shades.

Thrown into the mix is a khaki shirt that the designer has engineered with a dramatic pleat trim; a structured light pink coat wrapped with a thick fabric belt he paired with slim-fit tailored trousers, and a whimsical ivory two-piece — an a-line skirt and a matching structured collar top.

There are ruffled blouses, tailored slim fit trousers and a stand-out three-button, double-breasted oyster cocoon coat, similar to the Prince of Wales style he designed for his last spring offering, shot against the backdrop of the vibrant blooms at Apassionata Flowers on Drury Street.

Titled ‘Quiet Drama’, the collection does have a certain sense of calm and quietude. There’s a softness and a fragility to the colours and fabrics, but O’Brien’s magic touch — his signature structure and impeccable tailoring — is as memorable as always.