THE IRISH DESIGNERS TO BUY FOR A/W 2019
Honesty and sustainability have always been the heart of design here, says Grace Cahill
THERE are very few new, highly-coveted labels these days that don’t strive for a degree of authenticity and a push-back against big, glossy corporate culture.
A decade ago, designers and brands aspired to compete against giant, overly hyped conglomerates — now it’s smaller labels, grounded in honesty and sustainability that are shifting design momentum and making us question why and how much we shop.
That said, a breed of designers have existed for the past two decades in Irish fashion — all of whom still champion ethical design and consistently resist the profiteering appeal of fast fashion.
Take Dublin-born Fiona Heaney who launched her label Fee G in 2003 — a capsule occasionwear edit that has naturally and instinctively evolved into a ready-to-wear label with a focus on sumptuous fabrics and tailoring for women with idiosyncratic taste.
Flanking her is Niamh O’Neill whose once regal collection of dresses has grown though life, age and motherhood, evolving into a collection of dainty feminine skirts, dresses and silky blouses in rich vibrant patterns and colours and O’Neill’s signature sweet charm.
Alongside her is Caroline Kilkenny’s established but completely revitalised label that has undergone a 180 degree shift in terms of aesthetic and silhouette and garnered new-found adoration for her exquisite fabrics in delicate hand finishes. Meanwhile, Heidi Higgins’s label, born from a small studio in Co. Laois, continues to be Higgins’s labour of love — an edit of delicately-embroidered jerseys, silks and tulles of superlative quality.