Holding his baby grand daughter in his arms, Costelloe f inished last-minute style tweaks

PAUL COSTELLOE dominated the Irish contribution to London Fashion Week this weekend, producing a show that left a front row audience of Irish beauties gasping for more.

Una Foden, Vogue Williams, Ronan Keating’s wife Storm, Angela Scanlon and Anais Gallagher, daughter of rockstar Noel, all turned up to view the designer’s latest collection. And they were richly rewarded. Dominating, rich, fierce, bold, and above all else cool, the designer described his collection in five words backstage yesterday after a stellar offering of autumn-winter 2016 style.

The designer, who cradled his granddaughter in his arms while making last minute adjustments to models, appeared in flying form and talked about a strong powerful ‘Amazonian’ woman inspiring his aesthetic.

‘It was a sort of Mad-Max theory,’ he said. ‘I saw the movie and something just clicked. I was really taken by the strong, spirited, domineering women.’

Tough, coarse, rebellious fabrics contrasted with the sweetness of his Sixties-inspired baby-doll silhouettes. The show opened with black and red tartan military coats followed by monochrome tweed.

Anna Wintour sat without her dark tinted glasses front row at JW Anderson’s show, a testament to the young designer’s status and success. She joined a starstudded front row that included Britsh Vogue editor Alexandria Shulman, Tim Blanks and Alexa Chung. His extraordinary mix of colour, draped silk fabrics, and ruffled skirts showed JW can do feminine, in unsuspecting guises.

Zoe Jordan Jordan titled her collection Off The Road; her muse stemmed from ethnic, faraway inspirations, including a trip to Africa where she travels every year for three weeks at Christmas.

Simone Rocha’s wispy, feminine, ethereal collection was the last of the Irish designers’ displays. With her stunning lace creations and flowing silhouettes, the young Dubliner and new mother stole the show.