STARS of the fashion world, past, present and future, were gathered under one roof at the NCAD fashion degree show in the RDS on Tuesday night. All the collections were greeted with applause, but none more so than Leonie Prendergast's "Porcine Glamour", whose accessories collection was modelled by drag queens, Miss Panti and Shirley Temple Bar, winner of this year's Alternative Miss Ireland, as well as designer Niall Sweeney; make-up artist Carlos Oberon (or "Glitter Bug", if you will); and NCAD student Mark Ingles.
The swish and streamlined show, which also featured the debut of uber-trendy designer Pearce-Fionda's collection for Debenhams, was the first under the auspices of new NCAD head of faculty, Angela Wood. Wood's influence could be seen in the choice of producer, Leslie Goring, who produced Britain's Clothes Show Live and the Red Or Dead show during London Fashion week.
Angela also brought Alan Coolridge, former director of the Royal College of Art in London and a former tutor of hers, on board as external examiner. Designers Cuan Hanley, Marc O'Neill and Jen Kelly came along to enjoy the show and Alanna Gallagher was also in fine chatty form about her election party.
No, the red-haired stylist is not setting her hat at the Dail but is fighting for the right to party on Friday next. Gallagher's party will battle against solicitor Barry Lyons and Toni and Guy's Alan Boyce in a faux-election at Colombia, the new bar and club on Sir John Rogersons Quay opened by club entrepeneur, Martin Thomas. The person who convinces the majority of the club-goers with his or her manifesto will abscond to some sunnier clime with a proportion of the night's takings. All quite realistic, really.
After the show the gang moved on, some to Lillie's Bordello and some to Fitzer's in the RDS for a dinner hosted by Jim Murphy, director of retail operations in Debenhams, which sponsored the event.
John Rocha chatted animatedly with Stephanie Chen, Debenham's head buyer, who deals with designers such as Jasper Conran, Ben de Lisi and Philip Treacy, leading more than one guest to wonder whether we will be seeing a diffusion line from John in the Jervis Centre store.
Over dinner, photographer Perry Ogden discussed the success of his recent Pony Kids exhibition in Smithfield Market - he hopes to reproduce the photos in book form by the end of the year.
Perry, whose work features on the cover of this month's French Vogue, was first introduced to Smithfield by James Mathers, who was writing the script for Paul Tickell's film, Hooligans. After Ogden had introduced Mathers's work to producer Sophie Fiennes, the project really got kicking and filming has now begun, with the cast including many of the stars of Ogden's exhibition.
Also at the supper and deep in conversation with Perry Ogden was stylist Sally O'Sullivan, who had just that afternoon arrived from Sweden. O'Sullivan was back in town for director Mary McGuckian's wedding to actor John Lynch today, and had a busy few days ahead of her helping out with the wedding dress fittings with John Rocha and getting her own Philip Treacy hat flown over from London.
O'Sullivan was also attempting to catch up with old friends before she heads to London, where she and her husband Ivan Mulcahy are relocating as he moves from Reuters to Irish company Cognotech.