Two fledgling Irish fashion talents have seen their skills recognised in recent competitions – one in design, and the other in styling. Oliver Doherty from Ballyharry in Co Donegal finished in the top five of an international competition to design a costume for Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine to wear on stage in New York next Tuesday.
Doherty, who is in his first year of a design course at North West Regional College in Derry, submitted a black, Grecian-inspired gown (pictured left) to the competition, which attracted more than 1,500 entries.
And in London, Dubliner Katie Smyth has progressed to the final stage of Elle magazine’s “From Shopgirl to Stylist” competition, which scoured Ireland and the UK to find aspiring stylists who were working in retail. Smyth, who works in Urban Outfitters in Dublin, will now face a final assessment on Wednesday before the winner, who will receive an internship at Elle magazine, is announced the following day on elleuk.com.
