Seeing the Emerald Isle in Style

For years, shoppers have come away from Ireland with their suitcases bulging with homespun, hand-knit, bulky Aran sweaters, with jackets and suits and hats of handsome Donegal tweeds. Those items are still available in Dublin, and throughout Ireland, in abundance and at very reasonable prices. But Dublin is in the midst of a major fashion explosion that should not be ignored.

Several dozen young Irish designers are establishing themselves as forces to be reckoned with in the fashion world. For now, their turf is the Emerald Isle; most of them don’t manufacture in sufficient quantity to export. Yet.

For the most part, they’re based in Dublin (with some notables in the cities of Cork and Galway and the town of Bunratty, near Shannon) and many of them show their collections at The Irish Design Centre, a shop in the basement of La Galleria Shopping Arcade on St. Stephen’s Green, just off Grafton Street (one of Dublin’s best shopping streets).

The Irish Design Centre is a cavernous space which, with the help of steel tubing and curtains, has been subdivided into smaller units, each occupied by a different designer. You can sweep quickly around the place for an overview of the 26 designers. (You may find more; they add frequently to the roster.) Then head back to your favorites for a closer look. There are centralized individual try-on rooms and the staff is attentive and helpful in bringing additional items.

Fabulous Irish Tweeds

The collections range from creatively cut casual wear to ball gowns, from fabulous Irish tweeds and linens to cotton and leather, satins and high-tech synthetics. What is most distinctive about the young Irish designers is the way they combine fabric, color and cut for a fresh, smart, unusual look. It’s something not everyone at home is wearing. Two fashion shows a year are held in May and September. Some designers will take special orders, especially on evening wear. These usually take a week to make. And you will be refunded a 10% Value Added Tax on goods for export (you get the money back after you mail in a special form from home).

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll see: Deo Radji uses a green and heather nubbly stretch fabric to fashion an oversize shirt jacket ($80) over tight pants ($50). Also attractive: Radji’s raw silk suit with a large-pocketed jacket and flowing, gored skirt ($180).

Lainy Keogh makes some of the world’s most exciting, innovative knitwear, all done by hand. Atop rib-knit tube skirts ($80) of various solid colors flecked with contrasting colors, Keogh layers sculptured sweaters with cowl collars, or cardigans that button at odd angles, or bolero sweaters that leave the midriff bare. (Sweaters are expensive at around $350.) There are knit leather tunics with exotic fringes. And there are hand-knit leg warmers, stylish and reasonable ($20). Fabulous men’s sweaters, too.

The Missing Link uses cotton jersey and silk to create innovative ensembles. Most notable: a white or black ensemble, mixing silk shorts gathered at the waist, flared at the thigh, with a matching silk big shirt that buttons up the front and back and has enormous pockets ($120 for the set).

Unusual Blending

Rosemary O’Connell makes prom dresses of shocking pink or electric blue satin. The skirt ruffles at the hem ($60) and the tops are neo-Victorian, high-collared, with enormous puff sleeves ($60). Unusual blending of fabric, color and design.

Heather Gilmore’s oversize linen plaid shirt (with oversize side pockets) tops off her woolen trousers that button all the way down the side of the leg ($155 for both).

Shannon Hoey puts a big paisley tuxedo shirt, complete with tails, over smashing corduroy jodhpurs ($130 for the ensemble).

John Hockaday’s heavy navy blue woolen full skirt ($80) is gorgeous, but it would take a strong woman to carry it. It weighs a ton. Still, it is an unusual item and handsome, especially when topped off with Hockaday’s lovely light blue shirt ($45) and boxy navy wool jacket ($110).

Miriad Whisker’s tweed trench coat is a knockout ($200) and her black and white checked wool pantsuit, with leather trim at waist, cuffs and collar, is stunning ($290 for the suit).

Patricia Hayden’s clothes have a dress-up look. Her cream-colored satin gown with pearl buttons and a drop waist ($180) would look splendid at a wedding. Gray satin trousers with gathered pockets ($60) are beautifully outfitted with a broad-collared blouse with gathered pockets ($150). A wool tweed suit in subtle sandy colors is finely cut, with the jacket’s hemline arching upward in front ($180 for the suit).

Corner on the Punk Market

Young Blood Rumble has a corner on the punk market, with a massive shocking pink fake fur coat ($150) and kooky knit mini-dresses ($35).

Louise Raymond makes great tweed suits for a more conservative constituency. They’re in purples, heathers, grays and blues, lovely with raglan sleeve jackets ($150 average).

Upstairs, on the first floor of La Galleria, a shop called Toto features four (sometimes more) designers, generally suited to a conservative clientele. Louise Kennedy has won awards for her full-cut, high-style tweed coats (from $270) and suits (from $240). Nicky Wallace’s muted tweed coats (same price range) are handsomely trimmed with leather. Quinn & Donolly shapes stylish ensembles (jackets, pants, skirts) of stunning gray check wool (about $100 per item). Additionally, you’ll find fine Irish leather coats, the work of Liam Gartland, for about $600.

Not represented at La Galleria is a superb young designer, MarieLouise Reynolds. She is the daughter of noted Irish designer Vonnie Reynolds and she sells her fashions primarily in her mother’s shop, Bunratty Cottage, near Shannon Airport. She also has an outlet in Dublin, the Kilkenny Craft Centre on Nassau Street.

Her look is a wonderful modernization of the highlands, with tweeds and plaids layered as capes and shawls over skirts, blouses, vests, tunics. She uses earth tones and pinks, with black velvet trim to outline and accent. MarieLouise Reynolds has begun to export to the United States, primarily through Talbot’s Catalogue. But you’ll get a bigger selection and save up to 50% by buying in Ireland, where an ensemble can cost as little as $200.

Seasonal sales at Bunratty Cottage are in October and November. A visit to Bunratty Cottage is a must if you’re flying into or out of Shannon Airport. MarieLouise’s exquisite taste and emphasis on quality could catapult her into fame. She may make the same sort of impact on women’s fashions that Laura Ashley did.