THEY aimed at an audience of 1,000, set aside £2,500 worth for awards, promised an entertaining evening of fashion, and they delivered on all counts.
The Shannon Design Show takes place on an ad hoc basis in Athlone, or when the mood strikes the organiser, Mr Tom Kelly of RTE. While not a place that would immediately spring to mind as the centre of budding fashion design, it became a brief mecca recently when 60 wannabe famous but mainly little known designers attended a long day of seminars and 30 of them went on to show their collections on the cat walk.
The panel of judges, chaired by Fianna Fail TD Mrs Maire Geoghegan Quinn, and including this writer, effortlessly agreed on the winners, Jane Rankin, from Co Derry, and Elaine Curtis from Co Carlow, who each received £1,000.
Young, competent designers with their eye on the future, their handling of their chosen materials was particularly good, with Rankin offering precise tailoring, as well as soft, flowing lines, and Ms Curtis coping with gossamer knits in a very upbeat, modern way.
The Brown Thomas voucher went to Mr Kevin Donaghy, a veteran designer Studio Donegal, whose menswear collection begged an answer to the question, "why is tweed not worn more in Ireland"?
Mr Tom Kelly lost his heart to Athlone when he was RTE's midlands correspondent, and in 1994 he put on the first Shannon show.
The Minister for Trade and Tourism, Mr Kenny, officially opened the event and the proceeds went to the Samaritans.