Spring in their steps: BT showcases new collections

Bright colours and breezy prints – right down to footwear and bags – made a strong visual impact at the preview of the Brown Thomas spring collections yesterday.

Instead of the usual razzmatazz of the January catwalk show, this more subdued presentation in the Dublin store’s Designer Rooms featured the clothes displayed thematically on rails. It focused on key trends from international labels under headings such as Secret Garden, Summer Grunge and Asia Society.

This was code for references to floral patterns (Erdem’s ladylike dresses, Dior’s duchesse skirts); Japonisme (Prada’s embellished flowers and geisha styles); and Dries Van Noten’s grungy tartans and metallic jackets. There were glimpses of monochrome, with black-and-white striped jackets and wispy white tops with jewelled collars from Stella McCartney and black tuxedos from YSL. But special-occasion pieces such as chrome yellow H-line silk dresses from Tom Ford and long, orange mousseline gowns from Alexander McQueen tended to put daywear in the shade.

The overall thrust was vivid colour as well as pastels and what is being termed “epic” print, such as a kaleidoscopic trouser suit and separates from Peter Pilotto and Dolce Gabbana.

Skirt lengths are getting longer, under the knee, according to Shelly Corkery, Brown Thomas women’s wear buying director, who stressed the diversity of the collections.

New arrivals this season include JW Anderson, the avant-garde London-based Irish designer, with his asymmetric flouncy separates; Bottega Veneta’s vintage-style tea dresses; and Otswald Helgason, an Icelandic-German design duo whose T-shirts and skirts are a hit with fashion bloggers.