One of Ireland’s top fashion designers today said the theft of more than €20,000 worth of haute couture garments was heartbreaking and sinister.
Helen Cody said she was devastated to discover 18 pieces, many made with rare antique material, were missing when she arrived at her Dublin studio this morning.
Many of the items were due to be shown at the Irish Fashion Awards ceremony on August 27th - part of Dublin Fashion Week - where Ms Cody has been nominated for Designer of the Year along with John Rocha.
“It is just heartbreaking,” she said. “A huge amount of work and time went into every single piece.”
The stolen pieces included handmade dresses, coats and jackets made from lace, cashmere, tulle and silk. Some of the materials used, such as antique Victorian lace and buttons, were one-offs collected by Ms Cody.
The majority of the stolen items were black and came from her autumn/winter collection.
“It feels very sinister because they targeted specific parts of the collection,” she said. “I only moved into this premises a month ago and there is no signage.” Ms Cody said she believes that the thieves broke in through a side window.
“The heartache of it all is that everything I do is handmade and laborious she said. “My work is not commercial, and I can’t just run off these pieces again. I wanted to show the best I can at Fashion Week and really push the boat out.”
Speaking on RTÉ this afternoon, Ms Cody said all the pieces taken were show samples, designed to fit models, and had not been shown yet.
Gardaí at Kevin Street are investigating.
PA