INSPIRING FASHION COLLECTION FROM YOUNG DESIGNER

A Ravensdale fashion graduate will showcase her collection as one of the future faces of fashion design at the eagerly awaited Ulster University graduate fashion show which takes place at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast on May 19.

Luisa Murray, a graduate at the university’s Textile Art, Design and Fashion degree, is putting the finishing touches to her collection and is looking forward to seeing her creations on the catwalk.

And the world of fashion is well known to Luisa as her parents, Gerry and Siobhan Murray, owned a number of the United Colors of Benetton stores and worked in retail for a number of years. It was at home that Luisa picked up her love for fashion and at her former secondary school, St Vincent’s, that she found her talent for creativity, nurtured and developed by art teacher Mrs Mullen.

Luisa went to O Fiaich College for a year to complete a portfolio course before starting at the University of Ulster in 2014.

In the first year, students study a range of topics such as weave, embroidery, print and fashion, with specialist options available from second year onwards. Luisa concentrated on print making using different techniques such as digital and 3D printing to create a wife variety of designs.

In third year, the Ravensdale woman worked at Dunnes Stores in Dublin on the Joanne Hynes collection, an experience she really enjoyed.

Her college collection, called ‘Oige’ is inspired by Irish femininity and Irish design with slip dresses created with hand illustrated digitally printed fabrics and coats in velvet with ruffle detailing.

Supported by Santander Universities, Ulster University’s graduate fashion show provides an invaluable platform for young designers to reveal their runway collections as they prepare to launch their fashion careers, both locally and globally. Previous Ulster University graduates have gone on to work for international designers as well as major retailers including House of Fraser, Inishmaan and Douglas and Graham.

Tickets are on sale now at just £15 per ticket at: getinvited.to/ festivalartdes/ulster-university-graduate-fashion-show-2017.