I dropped in to Off The Rails Live at the RDS amid a biblical rain storm on Friday night. Mock ye not dear stoppers-by because, from humble bloggers to big name designers, it was a darn high-fashion event. I absolutely would not give up the chance to sit at the same catwalk as Mr. John Rocha, and it was a pleasure to see him accept the award for Best Designer from Jodie Kidd. Who incidentally was wearing possibly the flattest shoes in the world and was still taller than everyone else, including the models in heels who wore some of Rochas designs. (pictured).
It was the following fashion show, however, that blew us all away, produced by the insanely talented Lee Lapthorne, the show was a visually vibrant affair. Themed around the 6 senses, the show was presented against a backdrop of light displays and each ‘sense’ was interspersed with dancers. It was one of the most impressive fashion shows I have seen in Dublin; to be honest I was expecting the usual array of House of Fraser pieces and maybe a touch of high street. Although this was the case in part, the rest was so much more than that.
From independent Irish boutiques like Liberty Blue Boutique and NC Kilkenny to on-line boutiques like mytights.com and Bitching and Junkfood; From well-known Irish designers like Tim Ryan, Kate & Ava, Joanne Hynes and Aideen Bodkin to international designers like, Bora Asku, Rachel Freire, Avsh Alom Gur and Manish Arora. All the elements came together to create looks that were fiercely fashion-forward.
What really made the show for me was the inclusion of pieces from this year’s collage graduates; Katriona Flynn, Gerard Hancock, Joanne Power, Suzanne Acton, Clare Geraghty, Demelza Buckley, Tammy Larkin, Lynn Allen and Heather Finn. Including incredible, pieces from Ireland’s fashion future made the show the stand-out event that it needed to be. With fashion hierarchy present, it would nothing short of shameful had the show not included such vibrant, thought-provoking creativity. I loved it oh, and if anyone knows where I can buy a pair of Lion King leggings please, do holla.
Hmmm I thought the “awards” were ridiculous! The whole process happened so fast and was unprofessional in my opinion. the fashion show was very good though.
Hey May, I agree that the awards were over way too quickly.
It would have been great to see examples of some of the work of the nominees. Even if we just saw examples of the winners’ work. I think that would have given the awards a little more credence and really shown why the winners got their awards over the other nominees. Not that we needed to know why Rocha won of course!
I couldn’t make it but I knew you will fill me in
Seems that I missed a great show, ajaja…great pictures!
Thanks Alice, the show was definitely one of the best I’ve seen here. x
Im with May in that the awards bit flew by. and they didnt explain how the awards were voted, they mentioned “by the public” at one stage, but how did they advertise the voting? was it via the RTE guide? I got soaked on route to the event so was a bit miserable so am enjoying your commentry Whisty and pics of it now in a new light, thanks
Can you believe how much rain came down!! I’m so pleased the post was enjoyable Mrs and that your tootsies are finally warm and dry! x