Famed Irish artist Audrey Hamilton extends her creative genius to fashion design as she today announces the opening of her ‘Fashion Is Art’ POP-UP in the Powerscourt Centre
The avant-garde POP-UP has been opened in celebration of the Audrey Hamilton Apparel summer fashion dop and the Audrey Hamilton Art ‘Iconic Era Series’
The pop art creative has gained an adoring following worldwide with her expressive abstract pop art pieces, and today AHA Art and AHA Apparel will be on display for the very first time
Audrey Hamilton is known for her bold, expressive pop art pieces. Her customer base and following reaches well beyond Ireland to pop art lovers all over the world. It was during lockdown last year that the artist and entrepreneur embarked on launching her own premium apparel line, Audrey Hamilton Apparel. The unique statement clothing pieces feature some of Audrey’s best-known artwork, along with custom designed apparel all curated by Audrey Hamilton herself. After the sell-out success of her first apparel launch last year, today Audrey is beyond excited to announce both her apparel summer fashion drop, as well as the opening of her very ‘extra’ new POP-UP store in Dublin 2’s plush Powerscourt Townhouse Centre.
In true Audrey Hamilton style, and in line with the high-end reputation her art is so well known for, Audrey was adamant that her apparel line would focus on the elements most important to her: quality, style, and creativity. After half a year of perfecting the designs and countless hours correcting the exclusive print work, Audrey Hamilton Apparel’s summer fashion release is ready to launch.
As Creative Director of both AHA Art and AHA Apparel, the artist turned designer is today also exceptionally excited to announce her ‘Fashion Is Art’ POP-UP and invites the public to discover the full Audrey Hamilton experience, in person, for the first time.
In line with the brand’s AW21 collection style and ethos, the Audrey Hamilton Apparel summer release line focuses on eye-catching designs, bold styling, and expressive colours. The oversized t-shirts that encompass the collection are made of 100% cotton and are manufactured in Portugal to the highest ethical and environmental standards.
Speaking about her summer launch, Audrey Hamilton says:
“My love of art and being an artist is who I am, extending that creative process to fashion design was definitely a challenge. The artistic creativity part came quite naturally but working with textiles was a whole new endeavour for me. I tried to view it as simply having a new canvas but was quickly put to the test once we started. Admittedly, I am a perfectionist so quality, stitching, design, fabrics, pantones, labelling, printing, all of it had to be perfected countless times.”
“All our pieces are made by the top manufacture and print house in Portugal, whose clients include Versace, Karl Lagerfeld and Burberry, to name a few, so once we engaged with them, I knew I was in the best hands. Friends and family thought we were mad at the expense, but I just wouldn’t budge on quality and design standards. The printing of my artwork on textile was by far the most challenging as the team were used to printing digital designs onto clothing, as opposed to art, so this meant strike-off after strike-off until we reached the desired result. Everything has to be printed multiple times, to reach the bold colour quality my art is known for, and I just couldn’t settle for less. The owner of this famed Portuguese print house actually ended up seeing these designs as a personal challenge!”
The AHA summer fashion drop consists of an exclusive line of oversized t-shirts, all aptly named after their corresponding art piece: Snow Leopard, Motherearth, Femme, Queen, and Twogether.
To celebrate the summer drop Audrey decided that a POP-UP store that also incorporated the current line would give people the opportunity to see the apparel in person, an experience that was restricted by the pandemic. In true Audrey Hamilton style, it was ‘go big or go home’ so she decided on an all-out in store collaboration of Audrey Hamilton Art and Audrey Hamilton Apparel. People can expect ‘Fashion Is Art’ to be just as bold and beautiful as the products she releases.
‘Fashion Is Art’ opens today on the ground floor of the Powerscourt Centre, Dublin 2 for an exclusive 3 week run, ending July 30th. Speaking about the POP-UP, Artist and Designer Audrey said:
“I wanted a space where people could come and see the new apparel line, try them on, feel the top quality and enjoy the artwork that has inspired each piece. Choosing ‘Fashion Is Art’ as the title of the POP-UP really imbues everything we do and encourages people to be expressive and confident in what they wear. When wearing an AHA piece we want you to be bold, and to not only look beautiful but feel beautiful too. As our brand message states: Be bold, you are already beautiful”.
Another important part of the Audrey Hamilton brand is being socially responsible and environmentally aware. Last year the AHA Giveback incentive raised over €50,000 for charity including WWF and Breast Cancer Ireland. Audrey attributes the success of raising these well needed funds to the generosity of her customers in equal parts. Along with the philanthropic aspect, Audrey also ensures that all areas of production are met to the highest sustainability verifications and guidelines. All apparel pieces to date are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) approved.
The Audrey Hamilton ‘Fashion Is Art’ POP-UP opens today to the public and is open until June 30th. Opening times are 10am – 6pm. The new summer fashion drop will be available to purchase exclusively in-store for the first week, and then online at audreyhamiltonapparel.com.
Pieces in the new line begin at €55.
