Dresses are the star of his first summer collection for a|wear, Peter O'Brien tells DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN
‘I love things that are sober, but extravagant, like a Martha Graham dress in 17 circles of black jersey. I like quiet clothes, and I think the plague of the 21st century is the word ‘glamour’.” Designer Peter O’Brien has, as always, vociferous ideas about fashion, and in a new departure from his preferred palette of navy, grey, black and brown he has introduced more colour into this, his first summer collection for a|wear, in selected stores from next Wednesday. Dresses, he says, “are the stars of the show”. (The theatrical comparison is apposite, given that he is costume designer for the forthcoming production of Present Laughter by Noel Coward at the Gate Theatre, and currently absorbed by late-l930s fashion trends.)
The collection is small, focused and comprises the following: Two styles of cashmere knitwear at €120; five silk dresses at €190; three silk blouses at €100; two silk skirts at €120; one stone mac at €180, with a matching pleated skirt at €120. Primary colours never feature in O’Brien’s work; he’s more of a fan of shades “that are difficult to describe, like bruise, or blue washes.” For a|wear, fabric choices include a green and white crepe de chine polka dot, used in a simple dress and top, and soft cashmere knits with three-quarter sleeves and silk, polka-dot inserts.
The most tailored item is the trenchcoat in stiff poplin, a practical staple that can be both a formal or informal cover-up over a summer dress, matching pleated skirt, or with jeans. And as for the five silk dresses: “I wanted them to look like thrift shop buys, in good nick, with a lot of dressmaker details and my usual swoosh –– if you use chiffon, you can’t skimp on it.”
For a couture designer, working for a high-street retailer has been about learning that “there are things you can’t do, either because they are labour intensive, or you have to be on site. A bodice cut on the bias has to be fitted because the fabric just goes all over the place. And if an embellishment is not pretty, I am not going to use it. I just think you should get the best that your budget can allow.”
Laragh McCann, who models the collection here, will be remembered for becoming an international catwalk success at 16 years of age, modelling in New York, Paris and Milan, for Prada, Chanel, Vuitton and others. Three years later, she is now based in New York, has pulled back from the ramp and is exploring the possibility of continuing a career in fashion through photography, working on both sides of the lens. She featured in a fashion spread in French
Ellemagazine at the beginning of June.