Photoshoot With Young Designer of the Year Finalists

The Irish Independent Weekend published last Saturday, 8th of August, a beautiful photo spread by renowned photographer Emily Quinn and the top model Carrie Anne Burton from Morgan The Agency, showcasing the finalists for Young Designer of The Year 2015.

The designer competition is part of Dublin Fashion Festival, the citywide, now week-long celebration that brings a fashion festival fix to the streets of Dublin like never before. The finalists will take part on a spectacular runway show on the steps of Bank Of Ireland, College Green, on September the 9th. You can catch last years runway show here and the extended version here.

 

Ailbhe Doyle

The National College of Design

Ailbhe double-sided black and white dress is bias cut. This allows the fabric to drape softly and gracefully, adding to the overall movement of the garment. By using drape as a method of construction and an alternative hanging mechanism, Ailbhe eliminates the need for seams. The dress is cut as one continuous wrap piece fitted slimly around the waist. The exaggerated structural front accentuates the female body lines and curves. Ailbhe added a sheer jersey long sleeve undergarment, retaining a minimalist approach to accessories. Ailbhe design retains a romantic, purist aesthetic with emphasis on the dramatic fall, and fluid movement of the weighted material. A dress that becomes alive when worn. As a young fashion design graduate Ailbhe wants to bring a fresh, innovative approach, to traditional special occasion wear.

 

Aimee O’Shea

The Mallow College of Fashion and Tailoring

My piece for this competition I was influenced by an old perfume bottle it presented with various different textures, rich colors of golds, blues and reds, many geometric shapes and patterns, I explored different aspects of the perfume bottle through paint, drawings, batik dying, applique, silk printing, crochet, embellishments and a lot more. Looking at the different shapes within the bottle it influenced the design.  The Design of the top and skirt was influenced from sharp edges, shapes and geometric lines found within the bottle and when you take the top of the perfume bottle it changes the way the perfume bottle looks so I wanted that to be part of the design too.  The top gives little shape to the body and the collar opens, it can hide the neck or it can show it off, changing the way the outfit looks and adding more or less colour depending on the way it is worn. The skirt is taking its shape from various parts of the bottle, it changes the entire shape of lower body, it widens the hips, it makes the waist look smaller and legs look longer

Ally Nolan

National College of Art & Design

This garment is representative of the collection SinCT which has its origins in film noir, optical illusion and Frank Miller’s graphic novel Sin City. The common thread tying this diverse subject matter together is the use of contrasting colour to manipulate the eye. Achieving this effect was the key focus of the design with a strong emphasis on fabrication. The intersection between fashion and optical art demonstrates the malleability of design and illustrates the endless possibilities of merging diverse concepts. The Young Designer of the Year provides a forum to showcase creativity, experimentation and dynamic design within the Irish fashion culture, a culture which I would be honoured to be a part of.

 

Anne Catillion Lianne

The Mallow College of Fashion & Tailoring

Art is a major inspiration for Anne. Her love for art was manifested through her final year collection, inspired by the works of Cezanne, Picasso and Braque. This appreciation of artistic techniques as well as an appreciation of natural form and a liking for asymmetrical shapes has been, and is much of her inspiration for her work, as expressed by this piece. This outfit is a cumulative expression of all the work Anne did for her 3rd year collection. It embodies much of the multifaceted and planar elements of cubist techniques (typified by the skeletal framework of the cut-work and felted cape), and fuses them with her love of the diffusive, sensual and ethereal effect of sheer fabrics (the asymmetrical faux leather dress with chiffon overdress). This contrast in texture and aesthetic provides its own dynamic… The cape with its bold lines and asymmetrical nature balances with the natural flow of the overdress.

 

Emma Curtis

St. Angela's College Sligo

My design was inspired by shells and seaweed gathered on the beaches of Sligo. Exploring the shape, texture and form of each piece selected. Bringing innovative designs together to create a mini degree collection with a 6 piece line up and construction of 3 garments. The outfit I have chosen to enter is a cape/coat made with white neoprene, gold leatherette with a light weight lining that includes a print designed and each print hand painted and printed on heat transfer press. There is a chiffon scallop inspired dress with gold leatherette cuff and rolled hem to go underneath.

 

Helen Hayes

Grafton Fashion Academy

Helen Hayes trained and worked as a graphic designer before she began studying at night in the Grafton Academy. She is currently a final year student. Helen was inspired by the work of the artist Patrick Scott and, in particular, his wonderful use of surface pattern and his tranquil colour palette. The outfit plays on these principles. The dress, in black, is a form flattering shape comprising a pattern of triangles. The coat develops this approach in a contrasting cream with individual pieces joined together with industrial washers. The hat continues the approach into a more sculptural piece.

 

Katie Donohoe

Griffith College Dublin

My design was inspired by the palette, texture and natural shapes of the Wicklow Mountains. The fabrics used to achieve this look are soft, sumptuous and full of texture. I wished to create a look that reflected the beauty of Wicklow and achieved an overall contemporary and clean silhouette. The embellishment used for the culottes is made of Perspex to reflect the shapes found on the Wicklow map, this Perspex reflects the light and gives the effect of dappled sunlight on the landscape.

 

Lamis Gourmaa

Griffith College Dublin

I have created a menswear collection to show off men’s designs; this could be an opportunity for young and older men to get involved in the fashion world. My aspect to men’s clothing is to make a man feel strength and courage in his clothing also texture and attention to detail is key to my collection.

 

Marcelo Rodrigues

Dublin Institute of Design

My Autumn/Winter collection is defined by the contrasting use of feminine lines, raw edges and crochet. Providing movement and texture to the collection’s monochrome effect, the crochet was executed using the same fabric as the garments themselves. This not only allows for a dramatic dimension to be added to Infection Plumis, but also maintains the collection’s clean and simple lines. In this way, I aimed to create an androgynous collection for modern and fashionable men that, although containing wearable elements, verges on the avant-garde.

 

Roisin Lawrence

Griffith College Dublin

The inspiration for this garment is the video game “Bioshock” which looks at the possibilities of genetically altering humans to enhance their performance and abilities to attain new levels. The theme in of this game raises the question has natural human evolution ended, are we now, through advances of science, able to control our own evolution through genetic human enhancement? Will we, in the near future, as in “Bioshock”, be able to enhance our bodies e.g. increase our intellect, develop bigger, better and more specialized bodies; the possibilities are endless. The garment is made from cotton poplin with a print of my own design inspired by images of the workings of the human body in particular the veins. The inspiration for the latex accessories is the evolution of human skin. I believe that my design should win because it is conceptual, innovative and exciting but still wearable and comfortable.

 

Siri Matterson

Ulster University

My graduate collection is inspired by the work of German abstract painter Paul Klee. The work aims to investigate and interpret his use of colour and geometry, and each design is a wearable reflection of a painting. A lot of time has gone into researching the colour theory behind these paintings, and hand dye all yarns and fabrics used to replicate the colour schemes Klee used in his paintings. The majority of the pieces are knitted in mercerised cotton, merino wool and silk on a domestic knitting machine, using techniques including intarsia and short rowing, while a few of them are sewn using felted wool and habotai silk. As both knitting and dyeing are very time consuming processes each garment has been crafted using a lot of skill, some pieces taking over 200 hours of manual labour.

 

Stephen Mclaughlin

Limerick School Art and Design

My collection is inspired by the changing roles of both men and woman in today’s culture and how these gender roles are society’s concepts of how both men and woman are expected to act. How they are shaped by cultural norms and how these norms have changed throughout today’s culture resulting in this concept of gender bending becoming much more acceptable is today’s culture.