Irish Magazine Stellar’s Special Irish Issue

Hey All,

If you haven’t read it yet, Stellar have gone to town with their ‘Special Irish Issue’. It’s the kind of thing that makes me proud to be a part (albeit the smallest) of the fashion industry in Ireland. The features range from ‘Sexy has no size’ (where 6 Irish women ‘bare all’ and talk about their body confidence) to ‘Damn she’s got some wicked style’ (a look into the wardrobes of 6 Irish women – More on this later).

Two of my favourite Irish only features in this months issue, are ‘Stellar‘s Little Black Book’ -  a guide to eating, drinking and, most importantly, shopping in cities and towns all over Ireland; and ‘There’s no Place like Home’ - a beautiful editorial photoshoot, set against a backdrop of lush green fields; it features only Irish designers & shops. Here’s a couple of shots from the feature:- Including the genius moment that sees model, Blathnaid (Assets) sitting on a stone wall in a Matt Doody dress munching a packet of Tayto.

Dress, Eilis Boyle; Earrings, Merle O’Grady

Dress, Tim Ryan; Necklace, Merle O’Grady; Shoes, AWear

Dress, Matt Doody; Bracelet, Merle O’Grady; Shoes, Rockin’ Reptile

Top & Skirt, Umit Kutluk; Shoes, Fitzpatricks Shoes

Dress, Mia O’Connell; Belt, Una Burke (an incredible combination…)

Dress, Stephanie Grace Foy; Necklace, Rebecca Davis; Shoes, Rockin’ Reptile

Photoshoot Credits:

Photography: Naomi Gaffey

Styling: Corina Gaffey – Assisted by Stephanie Game and Aoife Smyth

Hair & Make-up: Aimee Murphy

Model: Blathnaid – Assets

Back to the wardrobes feature, myself along with 5 other women, including bloggers, Anouska Proetta Brandon and the gorgeous Becky Gray, were chosen to participate in the feature. Here’s my page:

Including such gems as… ‘I can’t live without leather trousers’ and ‘This season I’m loving…‘ I can absolutely confirm that I am perfectly capable of surviving without pleather clothes. As for the ‘I’m Loving… ‘ phrase, I can only apologise profusely and promise to try harder next time… Cringe.

Massive thanks to Stellar Magazine for asking me to come on board. It is amazing to be part of the issue!

Yours,

Whisty Xx

Crochet. Not to be confused with Croquet.

Dear Readers,

Where did the sun go? How does it know that it’s Saturday; more of us are off work and so want to be out in the sun that we’ve been longing for through the office window all week. How does it know not to come out and spoil us? One of life’s little mysteries…

Anyway, I was on a bit of a mission today to buy some crochet, you know that kind of needlework that Doilies are made of. Not that I was looking for doilies, I was looking for dresses or a waistcoat. I’ve been keen on the idea for a couple of weeks but since the sun came out the need to buy some to perfect my summer wardrobe has become much bigger. If I can’t find any vintage these are a few pieces I’d happily settle for instead:

Topshop Dresses

L-R: Asos Crochet and chain waistcoat, £25, Oasis Crochet Waistcoat, £25; Sass & Bide Crochet cotton vest, €471.79 at Net-a-porter.com

River Island Cardi – Not Strictly crochet but because the knit has such a big / loose weave it kind of has the right vibe.

Tim Ryan

Other Inspiration:

Diane Von Furstenberg : (Apparently this is crochet lace).

Sasha Pivovarova by Facehunter

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Editorial: Knitwear? Pretty though.

Xx

All “inspiration” images via google.

Irish Designer, Joanne Hynes, to be NYFDA 2010 Student Mentor

Joanne Hynes, one of Ireland’s leading fashion and jewellery designers, has taken on the challenge of mentoring the student finalists in this years coveted Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award. Last years awards saw hundreds of fashionable types gather in the old Habitat building on Dame Street to see NCAD student, Aoife Gallagher, win the prestigious award having been mentored by Irish knitwear designer Tim Ryan. The fashion event was definitely one of my favourites in Dublin last year, the atmosphere in the room as well as the quality and originality of the designers’ collections made it a fantastic event.

This years students met their mentor over breakfast at the Morrison Hotel last week as she shared design tips and advice. One piece of fashion advice she gave was, to divide the price of an item of clothing by the number of times you think you will wear it, to make it a worthwhile purchase. I love this piece of advice, I was only saying to a friend earlier today, that there is nothing better than paying a little bit more for something to find yourself still loving and wearing it years later. I have a beautiful Versace top that I bout about 12 years ago that I now estimate to have cost me 0.07p. That’s what you call a worthwhile purchase.

Of the collaboration with the awards, Joanne said, “I am extremely excited at the opportunity to mentor these young designers. I love hearing their ideas and helping them transition brilliant thoughts into works of art. I am very much looking forward to seeing what [they] come up with. The motivation and creativity of this year’s finalists is exceptionally inspiring”. It sounds as though this years event is going to be yet another fantastic show, I can’t wait to see the designs, let alone the final show pieces. Photo: Joanne Hynes with model Yomiko in one of the designers pieces.

The inspiration for this years designs is www.ovi.com, Nokia’s information portal.

Best Designer Award Went to John Rocha

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.

Jerry Hall is Going Off the Rails

RTÉ’s flagship fashion show, Off the Rails, is going live at the RDS this weekend with Total Experience. This year’s event is kicking off with an awards ceremony to celebrate the best of Irish fashion.The 8 award categories include: Best Fashion Stylist, Fashion Photographer, Hair Stylist, Make Up Artist and Best Dressed Male and Female Personalities. But it is the awards for Best Fashion Designer that is the most coveted. The 5 finalists are Irish based designers John Rocha and Joanne Hynes, Tipperary native and knitwear designer Tim Ryan, Donegal handbag designer, Pauric Sweeney and Northern Irish Sharon Wauchob. The winner will be presented with the awards by the timelessly glamorous Jerry Hall.

EDIT: Jerry hall will now not be attending the awards ceremony due to exhaustion from her stage performance of Calendar Girls. Jodie Kidd will now present the Best Designer Award.

Jerry Hall is a legendary model and the epitome of glamour; from her days of hanging out at Studio 54 with Warhol and Blondie to her lead singer lovers like Bryan Ferry and Sir Mick Jagger. Proving that she truly is a remarkable model, she became the face of Chanel accessories SS09 at the age of 52. The images are incredible… what 2.55 bag?

Now her daughter, Georgia May Jagger is hitting the same dizzying heights that Jerry attained. Her campaign for Hudson Jeans shows just what a beauty she is and she got her first UK Vogue cover for the October issue.

Tickets priced at €36.50 are available from Ticketmaster.ie

Images courtesy of Chanel, Hudson Jeans and Vogue UK. (Images from Studio 54 Unknown).

Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award 2009

Next stop on the Dublin fashion scene is on Wednesday, March 25th, at the Nokia Young Fashion Designer Awards 2009 finale. The sixth annual event will take place, in what used to be the Habitat store on Suffolk Street. There are 20 finalists vying for the prestigious award who have all been mentored by Irish knitwear guru Tim Ryan.

Students from Irish colleges; Grafton Academy, Limerick Senior College, Limerick School of Art and Design and National College of Art and Design,  used the Nokia Supernova collection as the inspiration for their designs this year. These are their mood boards, I absolutely adore 5, 12 and 13 and I can’t wait to see the final pieces tomorrow night!

FINALISTS

National College of Art and Design

Gerard Hancox – Ballyfermot, D10, Gillian Noonan – Devlin, Co. Westmeath, Suzanne Acton – Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Clare Geraghty – Clonsilla, D15, Carla Murphy – Clondalkin, D22, Lyn Allen – Sandymount, D4, Siofra Caherty – Philsboro, D9, Aoife Gallagher – Stoneybatter, D7

Limerick College of Further Education

Celine Sheridan – Ennis, Co. Clare, Iryan Di Vito – Feohanagh, Co. Limerick, Stacey Wall – Cahir, Co. Tipperary, Lucia Poliakova – Dooradoyle, Limerick

Grafton Academy of Dress Design

Sara-Kate Swan – Portmarnock, D13, Aine Kilbride – Bohernabreena, Co. Dublin, Yvonne Fleming – Ranelagh, D6

Limerick School of Art and Design

Mia O’Connell – Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ciara Glynn – Meelick, Co. Clare, Stacey Grant – Ballinacurra Gardens, Limerick,

NOT PICTURED Caitriona Anglim – Croagh, Co. Limerick, Joelle Jeejeebhoy – Mallow, Co. Cork

JUDGES:

Susie Lau from www.stylebubble.typepad.com

Senior Menswear designer, Brendan Mullane from  Hermés www.hermes.com

Irish designer Louise Kennedy www.louisekennedy.com

Godfrey Deeny European Editor of www.fashionwiredaily.com

Zoe Matthews, Head of Womenswear at House of Fraser www.houseoffraser.co.uk

www.nokia.ie/nyfda