Galway-born designer Joanne Hynes is the winner of the Irish Designer of the Season Award, announced at the launch of Dublin Fashion Week yesterday.
The award, sponsored by Brown Thomas, was presented to her last night at a reception in the Morrison Hotel in Dublin, where the three-day trade event previewing autumn/winter 2006 collections from 24 Irish designers is taking place.
The designer, who graduated from Central St Martin's in London in 2001 with a first-class honours MA degree in womenswear, is known for her crystal- and sequin-embellished dresses and chunky geometric jewellery. She has been steadily increasing her profile at home and abroad ever since and premiered her first collection in spring 2004 in Dublin and London and made her debut in Paris the following year.
Last year, she was commissioned by Top Shop to create a special new range for their boutiques in London and Dublin and her current spring collection can be found in Brown Thomas and the Design Centre in Dublin, as well as boutiques around the country.
She has been a part-time lecturer in fashion at Limerick School of Art & Design and was until recently head of the BA fashion course at the University of Hertfordshire.
"Her clothes are all about contemporary elegance and her attention to detail is impressive," said Shelly Corkery, head of fashion at Brown Thomas, who presented the award.