Press Release - NCAD Fashion Showcase
Cultures come together for striking fashion showcase
Monday, 27th May 2019
Work of NCAD fashion graduates references the past while looking to the future
Diverse cultural and familial backgrounds, articulated through both traditional craft techniques and new design processes, are to the fore of this year’s fashion collections presented by graduates of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Fashion Design degree at its annual fashion showcase today (27.05.19). For the fifth year running, the event was supported by The Westbury, a Doyle Collection Hotel, which hosted the event and sponsored the production of NCAD’s fashion film, and by Brown Thomas, which offered a bursary and mentorship to one student, chosen by Brown Thomas Fashion Director, Shelly Corkery as the ‘Designer to Watch’.
The showcase put the spotlight on the work of twenty graduating designers, who presented collections which draw heavily on their individual backgrounds. Local, national, and global cultural identities find expression through a dual approach to design and production, one which brings together vernacular skills and innovative technologies. The resulting collections transcend place, time and seasons, referencing the past while looking forward, and reflect an increasingly connected world.
NCAD unveiled the collections in a high-end fashion film, sponsored by the Doyle Collection, which was exclusively premiered at the event to an audience of fashion industry professionals. Afterwards, students had the opportunity to present their collections to leading figures from the fashion industry, talking them through their collections, presenting their lookbooks, and discussing the design and construction of individual pieces.
Speaking at today’s event, Angela O’Kelly, Head of Design for Body and Environment at NCAD, commented: “From garments passed down through generations of the same family, to traditional dress of the Philippines and Nigeria, to explorations of military, biker, GAA, and skate cultures, the references contained in this year’s graduate collections are rich and eclectic. This not only reflects today’s interconnected global community, but demonstrates the ‘à la carte’ approach to identity taken among our students, and people today more generally.
“In recent years, we have observed how graduates are engaging with heritage skills and traditional material culture. Among this year’s students, we note a particular emphasis placed on overlaying these traditional skills and fabrics and with cutting edge techniques. The result is a truly contemporary aesthetic, as evidenced through innovative fabrication and silhouettes, which are at once inventive and highly wearable.
“The collections comprise pieces that go beyond any given fashion season. Graduates have developed pieces that can be worn in different ways, depending on the weather and the occasion. Moreover, fabrics that have less harmful environmental impacts when washed or recycled have been prioritised, while techniques were chosen to guarantee the longevity of garments across generations. By transcending the seasons, they are sending out the message that less is more.”
Brown Thomas ‘Designer to Watch’ Bursary Prize Winner
This year’s winner of the Brown Thomas ‘Designer to Watch’ bursary is Heather Gilroy, who was chosen for her collection ‘Among the Flat Pink Roses’. The prize consists of a €4,000 bursary, an installation of designs in CREATE at Brown Thomas in July 2019 and a mentoring programme with the management team.
Commenting, Brown Thomas Fashion Director, Shelly Corkery said: “In such a fast paced and dynamic industry, one in which newness is highly sought after, identifying the next generation of design talent is a core part of our business. Showing great promise, this year’s NCAD students have demonstrated remarkable capability across all aspects of the design process, from concept to construction and presentation, and I have no doubt that they are at the outset of long and successful careers.
“Brown Thomas is delighted to support the NCAD graduates for a fifth year. Meeting new up-and-coming designers who are creating modern collections is always exciting and keeps us evolving and moving forward. I look forward to working with Heather in the run up to CREATE 2019 which kicks off in July.”
Work-ready graduates
As part of their studies, graduates participated in NCAD’s Studio+ programme, a year between the second and final years of the BA programme, in which they gain practical industry experience through studying abroad, internships and industry placements, or by working in a design bureau on live commercial, social, community projects, and research development.
O’Kelly added: “As the fashion industry becomes more conscious of its environmental and social footprint, there is an increasing onus on designers to work conscientiously and consider the impact of their work in a more holistic and nuanced way. Through NCAD’s Studio+ programme, students develop the skill sets needed to become empathetic designers, thinkers, creative entrepreneurs and leaders. It offers a non-linear path of self-discovery, facilitating the development of emotional and social intelligence, and cross cultural skills, creating more well-rounded individuals.”
NCAD fashion showcase hosted by The Westbury
The NCAD fashion showcase 2019 was hosted by The Westbury, a Doyle Collection Hotel, which also sponsored the fashion film. Pat King, CEO of The Doyle Collection, commented: “At the Doyle Collection, we are proud to play a part in supporting NCAD and the next generation of emergent Irish design talent. Having first collaborated with NCAD five years ago, 2019 marks our third year to sponsor the production of the fashion film. Hosting this event is a highlight in our calendar, and we are delighted to see the excitement and enthusiasm from students and professionals.”
Members of the public will be able to view the students’ collections and fashion film at the NCAD Graduate Exhibition 2019, which will run from Saturday, 8th June to Sunday, 16th June 2019.
The NCAD Fashion Design class of 2019 is kindly supported by Brown Thomas; The Westbury, a Doyle Collection hotel; Toni&Guy; and Makeup Forever.
Further information about NCAD’s BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion Design is available at: http://www.ncad.ie/undergraduate/school-of-design/fashion-design/.
ENDS
Contact: Sebastian Enke / Stephen Moloney, DHR Communications, Tel: 01-4200580 / 087-3239496 / 087-7858522
Notes to Editors:
Photographer Leon Farrell has been commissioned to cover the announcement of the winner of the ‘Designer to Watch’ and will issue images – for reproduction by media outlets, free of charge – to all relevant media outlets after the event this afternoon.
Angela O’Kelly, Head of Design for Body and Environment at NCAD and the students mentioned in the release are available for media interviews on request.
The fashion film will be available on NCAD’s YouTube profile this afternoon; media outlets wishing to reproduce the film, please contact Stephen Moloney using the contact details listed above.
Highlights of this year’s student collections are included below. Details and photographs of the work produced by all 20 students are available for download from the following link: bit.ly/2WynjCZ.
Ciara Palmer: ‘12662’.
Materials: Mustard coated cotton coat with laser cut numbers and binding details, bouclé mohair and wool knit jumper and coated canvas wide leg jeans with detachable pockets.
Design statement: 12662 is a personal exploration of the life of my Grandad, contrasting elements of his working life as a Garda with his home-life as a farmer. Silhouette derives from his utilitarian and durable 1970s Garda overcoat while colour, fabric and surface textures are inspired by the organic homemade structures of the farm. The collection moves away from the mayhem of fast fashion by offering considered long-lasting designs to bring order to contemporary fashion. Similarly how Garda order, control and law enforcement juxtaposes the organised chaos of nature on the farm.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
Anna Buzan: ‘The Reincarnation’.
Materials: Hand painted silk organza blouse; digital printed cotton Lisboa suit trousers.
Design statement: An occasion wear line for young women to help them transform into another character, their alter ego, to feel transported into a make-belief world. Inspiration comes from my dad’s military-service scrapbook; illustrations of daydreaming and hallucinating. A concept of longing and desire is combined with research into Russian soviet film and animation such as The Scarlet flower and Barbra Fair with the Silken Hair. Stark yet hyper-saturated colours and the metamorphosis of butterflies, celebrate the ability to constantly change state of colour, texture, size and form.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
Isobel O'Reilly: ‘Delia’s Prizefighter’.
Materials: Tailored skirt suit made from brown moire taffeta with contrast beige cotton piping and lined with silk; inflatable top made from turquoise latex, and inflates at the arms, shoulders, back and at the centre of the waist similarly to a pool ring; accompanying trolley bag is made from the moire taffeta, cotton twill and a beige and brown wool.
Design statement: This womenswear collection is conversely inspired by male boxing culture. In an of gender fluidity the collection plays with the stereotypical gender opposition of an earlier age. Established tailoring techniques rub up against more experimental fabrication and construction techniques. The neat silhouette of a 1940s women’s costume is contrasted with the bulk and muscle of the star boxer’s body of the same age.
Inspired by my grandparents, the tailored femininity of my grandmother, contrasts with latex inflatables representing the bulging muscle of her prizefighter husband, himself a stylish dresser.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
Anni Ren: ‘Noise Cyberspace’.
Materials: Cotton Canvas trousers with drawstring waistband, cotton canvas jacket with removable front panel and paracord fastening details, brushed jersey top with print & extendable shoulder strap and ostrich leatherette visor.
Design statement: Technology, Tradition & Organism. The three themes of technology, tradition and organism are inspired by the concept of technology exhaustion partly derived from contemporary fashion exhaustively mediated through digital technology. Research for the collection was based on computer hardware and software. Dismantled PCs inspired the cut and structure, while the compulsive consumption of gaming software inspired the chaotic cyber aesthetic. This aesthetic is achieved using fabrics, print, colour and paracord techniques.
To counteract this hyper-cyber frenzy, the collection assimilates tradition and organic life. Traditional Chinese garment types are reinterpreted and incorporating organisms such as the unappealing forms of bugs, spiders and worms aims to apply the notion, ‘fun’ and ‘unpredictability’ to broaden the assumption of this fashion collection.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
Heather Gilroy: ‘Among the Flat Pink Roses’.
Materials: Tulle dress with laser cut silk, broderie anglaise-inspired, layered frills. Cashmere knitted sweater with hand finished eyelet detail.
Design statement: Inspired by the ‘Repeal the Eight’ movement this collection highlights discourse surrounding the hugely various circumstances of pregnancy and motherhood. Imagery from Sylvia Plath’s poetry provided a darker side of motherhood - often overlooked - with her images of roses and Victorian Nightwear, incorporated here through fabric manipulation. In contrast the second key source for this collection is male tailoring of the same era, when padding, stitch, cut, fit and, most importantly pockets, provided bodily structure, authority, physical and economic mobility and protective armour - a far cry from Plath’s experience of Victorian Nightwear. ‘Among the Flat Pink Roses’ aims to construct and celebrate modern femininity.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
Holly McPhail: ‘From Minor to Major’.
Materials: Layered black and white organdy dress with laser cut detailing and removable and transformable tied sleeves. Black lightweight wool trousers.
Design statement: This womenswear collection celebrates my grandmother Mary McPhail, who was a professional mezzo soprano in the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Her glamorous life as an apprentice tailor turned singer inspired this collection. The broad silhouette, ornament and structural detail of this collection are worked up from her neat, orderly 1930’s/1940’s style. Her collars, neck ties, lace trims and other pieces from the same era have been transformed from details of costumes into the silhouette of whole garments. The collection aims to modernise these dated sources through scale and techniques such as laser cutting, print and embroidery creating a young, feminine aesthetic. Transformability, like changing career, is a key part of the collection including multifunctional garments that can be worn in several different ways.
Photo: Faolán Carey.
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