LEST we forget Saturday night's extravaganza at the Point theatre was called a showcase of Irish fashion design so it's worth giving some consideration to what, at one stage in the proceedings, were referred to as "the frocks." Uniquely, here were Ireland's best known and most successful designers, 11 of them showing in the one place and thereby providing an opportunity to discover whether there's a specifically Irish approach to fashion.
The answer to that inquiry no, not really. There was no consistency of style, no underlying characteristics shared by successive designers, not even a common use of the same fabrics. Indeed, unless everyone involved was going to run up a set of Aran sweaters and linen skirts, such was bound to be the case Irish fashion is now part of a larger global movement.
But if one quality did reappear throughout the two hour show, it was a persistent fluidity of line, turning up right at the start with Lainey Keogh whose layered cobweb knits in shades of blue and mauve softly flowed around the body. For the season ahead, Lainey's mood is decidedly blue everything from an ice cool tone for a body hugging long dress in horizontal ribbing, Id the deepest slate for rich chenille separates. Her signature ripple knit turned up for full length wraparound coats, while skirts were either clinging to the legs or else gathered at the waist and falling in generous folds.
Quin & Donnelly took quite a different approach to colour, seizing hold of metallics such as a long gold satin slip dress, fastening high with a collar, or a long silver velvet shift dress painted with red flowers. That floral motif also appeared in the duo's poppy print shift in cream chiffon worn over high waisted silver satin trousers.
And colour became brighter still with Paul Costelloe's silk tweed separates in dashing checks a bold red and blue mix jacket worn over a pink silk shift dress or a green and yellow check jacket teamed with mustard yellow palazzo pants. Casting aside his customarily low key palette, Costelloe opted instead for dazzling hues a long orange silk shirt with tight fitting sleeves, for example, worn over the most pencil slim bitter orange pants.
Those same tones appeared at the start of Richard Lewis's collection when Christy Turlington came out wearing a cross tying corset top in orange and yellow vertical striped raw silk with matching orange shorts. After a series of such ensembles, however, Lewis reverted to his more usual line of silk jersey pieces in navy a long, fluid skirt that fastened on one hip and was worn with an equally flowing jacket or an empire line evening dress with a single vent at the back, teamed with the tiniest of bolero jackets cut high under the arms.
Bay far the youngest designer included in the show, Marc O'Neill also began with blue an ice shade in shantung for a short, four button close fitted jacket and matching cropped trousers. Also worth noting O'Neill's zip fronted white satin bomber jackets and his pale blue chiffon shirts, darted, to fit the body and worn with an equally close cut three button short jacket and trousers, both of these in white wool.
Mary Gregory's blues were of the purest sky shades for a long dress in silk crepe decorated with panels of abstract pattern. A rich grey velvet coat came to the knee and was worn over a white v neck dress in white crepe which had horizontal bands of the same velvet down the body. A longer version of the same dress was combined with a short silver grey taffeta single button jacket that fitted snugly at the waist.
More tailored fits were provided by Jen Kelly who began with a dashingly short silk dress in shades of turquoise and mauve. That was the evening's blue leitmotif noted, and then for the metallics Kelly produced a gold lace dress (again very short) with scalloped hem and matching spencer jacket. Less dramatic but just as wearable were the designer's suits in wool crepe, blue again but also pink these had pencil line skirts and jackets with scooped necklines and peplum waists.
By way of contrast, John Rocha's latest collection was far less structured in feel than, its immediate predecessor white patent zip fronted jackets with slightly flared pants in the same colour and mauve floral painted chiffon sleeveless high necked shirts with white leather trousers. For men, Rocha also offers flared pants this season, but also black sateen suits, jackets tailored close to the chest and waist, trousers following the line of the leg just as close.
Tailoring of this kind has always been Louise Kennedy's strength and it was demonstrated once more in a series of long lean lightweight wool and linen jackets worn with matching pants the best of the jackets close high and are tied to one side of the waist. But Kennedy can produce dresses just as fluid as any of her compatriots, as was demonstrated by a dove grey silk long sleeved A line model that flared out from the waist or equally by a spaghetti strap cream layered chiffon evening dress that was scooped low at the bust and the back.
The daring skills of milliner Philip Treacy are already well known but still managed to thrill Saturday's audience with such pieces as his red and white stripe Mad Hatter hat out of which burst one canary yellow plume. All of Treacy's most famous set pieces from recent collections seemed to be, con show the shocking pink coolie double hat with matching neck band, the giant yellow sherbet worn at a rakish slant and best of all the black 17th century galleon ship with full rigging.
And finally, demonstrating his own masterful craft in Ireland for the first time in 10 years was Peter O'Brien who now heads the house of Rochas in Paris. Beginning with his enormous billowing tablecloth check skirts in red or lime green check taffeta and moving onto his deep blue bias cut dresses, O'Brien showed a fantastical imagination at work.
Nowhere was this more clear than at the end when he produced a set of rich velvet and silk crepe pieces in shades of plum and chocolate brown. It was a superb close to the night and helped to confirm as the last models wafted off stage that the one abiding impression would be, yes, of fluidity. This was Irish fashion flowing with the times.