All white now: ‘A tough and strong femininity’ features in Sarah Caine’s debut collection

Photos of her grandmother’s family found in a box inspired Sarah Caine’s National College of Art & Design (NCAD) fashion graduate collection in 2020 called Every Grace and Blessing You Need. “They were mostly of ceremonial occasions like weddings from the Victorian and Edwardian era and they resonated with me, so the collection was very personal and emotional and the construction based on Victorian jackets and Edwardian male trousers”, she says.

Caine is one of a number of new names making their debut at this year’s Create showcase at Brown Thomas opening next week on July 6th. Now in its thirteenth year, it features 28 emerging designers across ready-to-wear, jewellery, millinery, shoes, accessories and homewares. Several are making return appearances.

For Caine, launching a new luxury womenswear brand at the event has a particular significance because she along with others who graduated three years ago never had a graduate show or any exposure because of Covid. This collection is a development and expansion of her final student work which made use of vintage lace collected at various vintage fairs in London and repurposed. “I haven’t used vintage lace for Create but (intricate) French Leavers lace which has a vintage look because there is a lot of volume”, she says.

“It’s a capsule of eleven pieces in white and cream lace, tulle and cotton. I like the idea of purity and innocence associated with white”. Many have names called after members of her family like Mae after a grandmother and Julia after a great-grandmother, so an element of nostalgia informs the collection.

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Though she remembers getting a sketch pad for Christmas at the age of ten and drawing outfits she wanted to wear, the idea of a possible career in fashion took root at the age of 15 when she spent two weeks with designer Niamh O Neill. “We sketched and sewed together and went to her stockists around Ireland and it was a transformative experience”, she says.

Plans to work abroad after graduation were also stymied because of Covid, but “it made me – and many others – pause and look for inspiration here, so the opportunity to have this spotlight is a great way to make my debut”. The photos of the collection were taken in a family friend’s early 19th-century historic house in Louth “because I like the idea of old lace and old buildings”, says Caine, a native of Termonfeckin.

The use of white and delicate fabrics for these dresses, skirts and blouses and the mix of sheer and opaque give them an airy lightness and fragility but Caine is quick to point out that although she embraces the idea of femininity “it is a tough and strong femininity. The fabrics may be delicate but femininity has strength. You can look strong in other ways and I like the idea of someone making their own story with these pieces which can be passed on to the next generation or added to in the next season”. And white does not have to be always associated with weddings but about protection and the feeling of power within femininity. “Her bold silhouettes felt so modern and fresh and each piece is so well crafted which is why she has been chosen to exhibit this year” says Shelly Corkery, fashion buying director Brown Thomas and Arnotts.

Other names making their first appearance at Create include Feri’s floral prints, Ejay Griffin’s patchwork tweeds, Jennifer Slattery’s new tumble-washed linen shirts and this year’s Designer to Watch bursary winner Eve O’ Reilly chosen by Shelly Corkery for her Blue Rinse – “granny chic” – collection that celebrates older women. Also, for the first time, students from Moate Community College have been invited to display pieces made from recycled plastic #tagme and a dress and headpiece made from old church candles “Lighting the Way”.