The World of Irish Fashion

Richard Carroll

Photography: Halina Kubalski

Part One

The world of fashion on the Island of Ireland is a sparkling Irish shamrock bursting with inspiration. From coast-to-coast the vision and creativity of Irish fashion designers is striking. A 1,000-mile driving excursion led us past October fields of vivid green steeped in eternal beauty with early morning mists rising in luminous tendrils. Led by Dubliner John Colclough, owner of Ireland & Britain Observed, we followed the trail of Irish fashion revealing a stunning collection of both classic and high fashion garments with elevated fabrics and eminent knit sweaters, coats and jackets, many of which are a lifetime purchase, inane trends ignored.

The history of Irish knitting, the tailors, faithful weavers, and elegant tweed designs, illustrate the pride of the country. The fashion houses primarily family owned with some dating to the 1800’s, are a collection of free-thinking designers with quality and distinction a precedence. The well-traveled imaginative designers, creating clothing and accessories made in Ireland, are shaping the way of life on the island. Center stage, Irish fashion is for those who desire to look dazzling in wearable clothing and be comfortable and classic. From our reflections, the collection of Irish fashion designers we interviewed match any of those in Europe.

A photo shoot in the Dublin Camden Court Hotel arranged by spirited Eddie Shanahan, chairperson of the Counsel of Irish Fashion Designers, encompassed Abigail, a 19-yearold model, three fashion designers bringing two looks, and two others who have created accessories for both women and men, all five are colleagues of the prestigious 57-member Council of Irish Fashion Designers. For luxury and fashion tours, contact Ireland & Britain Observed.

irelandandbritain.com

Anderson founder and creative director Kindred of Ireland

Kindred of Ireland

Fashion Designer, Amy Anderson, founder and creative director of family-owned Kindred of Ireland, based in Belfast, who worked in China and California, and is deeply immersed in the time-honored saga of Irish linen. Following in the footsteps of her family and the luxuriant treasure of Irish linen, she was motivated by her grandmother Winnie who participated in the art of yarn spinning linen at the Moygashel Mill dating to 1780 in Northern Ireland. Smiling, Amy explained, “Sourced locally, we use beetled linen from some of the last remaining beetlers in the world. It’s an ancient process unique to Ireland and makes linen, the strongest of all natural fibers, absolutely striking with a glowing sheen. We are contemporary, sustainable, keeping the entire supply chain within Ireland, and work with Irish linen crochet, producing four collections each year created with exhaustive dedication to detail. kindredofireland.com

Family owned for 150 years, centered in Donegal, the fashion house is renowned for designing, weaving and tailoring, luxury and natural fabrics, and fashionable clothing. CEO and fifth generation Rosy Temple said, “We create garments made from our own stunning tweed fabrics, using the farmers-hand stitching style with 40 creative people in our mill producing clothing for men and women, home interiors and accessories. We sell our fabrics to designers world-wide, and follow our heritage with sustainable and resilient quality weaving with wool and linen. Our collections of both tailored and casual pieces are available at 300 retailers in Ireland the UK, and online.” magee1866.com

Magee

Christine Murphy founder and creative director

Urban Aran

Urban Aran

Waterford in the Southeast of Ireland is the home of Christine Murphy, founder and creative director of Urban Aran, and her inimitable collection of colorful and unique cashmere and sheer mulesing free Merino wool knitwear. Christine studied at the Limerick College of Art and Design, is forward thinking, free spirited, and profoundly influenced by Waterford’s cityscape, the dynamism of city life, the art project on city walls, and the Aran Islands located off the West coast of Ireland. She said “I studied the significant Irish knitting heritage, and the long-standing history of Aran knitwear and their unique style of stitching with fabrics such as the cable stitch with living, breathing fiber, and garments made of thick, undyed wool with the natural oils retained, and worn by Aran fishermen. Our style is the Saoirse long coat, and a contemporary expression of the Aran sweaters.” Urban Aran is crafted in Ireland, using luxury natural fibers, and anti-bacterial and temperature regulating Merino wool, and has a high profile on the web. urbanaran.com

My Name is TED

Dublin’s Georgian architecture and colorful period doors, often a symbol of the city, in harmony with grandfather Ted Carbery, a resilient fashion designer, set in motion grandson Brendan McEvoy and wife Kasia Gaborec-McEvoy, to establish My Name is TED. The fashion house came together after reading his grandfather’s transcripts who in 1944 suffered a stroke, and yet functioning with his left hand and mouth astoundingly created exceptional leather bags and accessories. Backed with tenacious family history, Brendan and Kasia have created an inspirational award-winning fashion house designing fine Italian leather handbags with solid brass hardware and the signature Dublin doors format as seen in the Door Bag Collection. My Name is TED is designed in Ireland, handcrafted to last for years, with definitive practicality, and sold throughout the world. mynameisted.com

My Name is TED

DWhat made you start your quest into the world of fashion design?

SFor me, clothing design was a gradual evolution of my process as an artist and designer. Thirty years ago I slowly transitioned from painting on canvas, to working with textiles... dying, painting, monoprinting, acid etching and chemically burning to alter the surface of the cloth. These elaborately worked pieces of silk satin, chiffon and velvet became the basis for my first clothing designs. They were dramatic evening and event wear pieces that were eventually sold through about 40 independent luxury boutiques across the country; from Beverly Hills to Madison Avenue.

DHow is your fashion style unique?

SOur approach to creating the textiles for each Collection makes the line unique. Although our customers are dressing far more casually today, each piece is still designed with the same artisanal approach that we began with years ago. For this seasons Collection we sourced a rayon matte jersey for our Casual Collection sweater line because of the way it ombré dyes across the garment, and utilized Japanese cottons for our Casual Collection tunics and blouses because of their unique texture after boiling in the dye studio. The combination of these exclusive textiles, combined with our contemporary, easy to wear silhouettes keeps our line unique.

DWhat’s the most controversial piece you’ve created?

SI had always heeded the business advice of keeping my art and my activism separate. Then in 2020, in the midst of political and social unrest, along with a pandemic which forced the permanent closure of many of my top boutiques, that changed. I began hand painting political statements including “VOTE” across the fronts of caftans, tops and gowns for boutiques and private clients. When Roe was overturned, our gown with “PROTECT OUR RIGHTS” emblazoned down the front was worn on the red carpet for a Broadway premiere. Our custom gowns with statements supporting Gay, Drag, and Trans rights have been commissioned for red carpets from the Tribeca Film Festival to the GLAAD Media Awards. These “Statement Pieces” are now a regular part of the line.

DWhat’s the most enjoyable piece you’ve created?

SA recent favorite was a look created for Billy Porter’s “Black Mona Lisa” concert tour. “Paint what you feel... I trust you” was the only direction he gave me, which allowed me free reign to play creatively. We incorporated Billy’s statement ”Respect Our Humanity” into the final look; a floor length tunic and coat with a billowing eight foot train, in blue-violet and metallic gold hand ombré dyed and hand painted iridescent silk taffeta. It was a joy to create. Upon seeing the completed look, Billy immediately requested a second, companion look with another of his favorite statements “The Change Has Already Happened” in iridescent fuschia and orange, which was also worn throughout the concert tour.

DWhat are your goals for the next five years?

SMy goal is to continue to design creative clothing that meets the evolving needs of my customers, including their evolving ways of shopping. With so many upscale independent boutiques closing over the past few years, more of my customers are purchasing my pieces online. So we’re moving to incorporate working directly with our customers for the first time. We’ve added e-commerce into our website SteveSellsStudio.com and redesigned the site to make shopping easier.

The Webshop currently has over 200 garment styles for sale, ranging from our Casual Collection sweaters and Japanese cotton blouses and tunics, to evening wear, accessories, and home furnishings. I’m excited to see what the next five years have in store for us!