Galway Now knows how to hold a fashion event and The Galway Fashion Trail for Spring Summer 2017 was fantastic. The event was held as part of Galway Fashion Week. The event saw some of the top boutiques around the city hold their own fashion show and we also got to see two of the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards showcase their pieces as well during the Fashion Trail itself – Niamh Daniels Scarves and Haus of MoHawk, which was certainly one of my highlights.
The day started early in the Radisson Blu Hotel where we were treated to a wonderful breakfast and a private catwalk show. You can read all about the morning event here and it was a fun start to the day. We then left the Radisson and started onto the Galway Fashion Trail.
Sarah Mason Salon
We were whisked down to the Sarah Mason Salon after the breakfast by Bradley Renault and I loved learning more about the salon. Sarah the owner talked us through the Award winning salon and her journey. Her salon is also the only one in Galway stocking Sassoon products! We also got to hear from Aisling from Aisling K Makeup as well. Aisling had done the makeup on the models earlier in the day at the breakfast and also on the models on the catwalks throughout the day.
Swamp
The Swamp catwalk was actually not in the store but out in the newly renovated Eyre Square shopping centre. This was such a great idea as it meant that more of the Saturday shoppers were able to get involved and see the fashion on display. The company is Irish owned so I am always happy to support. The Galway Hat shop supplied hats for some of the looks – and I was especially fond of the pink hat with the black & white bow – stunning.
I was surprised by the style on display, before this I would have thought that it was for a younger clientele but so many of us commented that some of the pieces would actually be good for the office as well as more formal pieces for weddings. A note also has to be mentioned on the beautiful Catwalk models who walked the catwalks in the shows – they are always so professional and know how to showcase the best cut and look of what they are wearing.
Greenes Shoes
I was really looking forward to visiting Greenes as I am always looking for new shoe inspiration 🙂 And I was not disappointed. I loved the shoe selections that were on display both in the store and the ones showcased on the catwalk. The store stocks so many well-known brands from Amy Huberman to Converse to Toms to Ecco – a fantastic mix to suit so many needs.
They are also celebrating their Birthday so it was quite special being there. While there we were also treated to some delicious green juices by Juicy Lucy. It was the perfect pick me up 🙂
My favourite shoes from the show were the Kate Appleby Marlow Style gold ones below that were just beautiful on and would go with so many different looks.
Niamh Daniels Scarves
Niamh Daniels scarves were also on display in the show in Greenes shoes. I love the prints on her scarves and you may remember that we featured an interview with her earlier in the year here and she was also a finalist in the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards. They looked fab with the contrasting black look underneath and helped compliment the shoes also and it was great to catch up with her again.
Colette Latchford
On my first Galway Fashion Trail, I remember being surprised that Colette Latchford was included as previously as it is not somewhere that I would normally shop but then being bowled over with their looks on the catwalk and have been back to her store since. So on this Fashion Trail, I was looking forward to seeing what was presented and I was not disappointed. There were some beautiful dresses showcased and certainly for the Galway Races this should be somewhere to go looking for a dress.
Lunch at Revive Cafe
Revive Cafe was somewhere that I had walked by often but had not actually popped into. We were treated to a simply delicious lunch and I have actually been back myself since as a paying customer! There was free-flowing wine, a sample menu of their sandwiches, burgers, wraps and so much more – all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. We also got to meet their amazing chef Mike O’Reilly which was great as it is always good to meet the people behind the food. It was also lovely for us to sit down and catch up.
Brown Thomas
This was one store that I think a lot of us were looking forward to seeing. Brown Thomas stock some of my favourite high-end brands and I was looking forward to seeing their Spring Summer offerings on the catwalk. Personal Shopper Miriam O’Reilly talked us through the mix of styles and looks on the catwalk. And the variance of clothes was great – from very dressy to casual looks and some I just fell in love with. The colours were also just so bright and vibrant that it really felt like a Spring Summer collection mix.
Haus of Mohawk
Lynsey the talent behind Haus of MoHawk presented her pieces on the Brown Thomas catwalk as well as brands being stocked there. And everyone was in for a very creative treat. You may remember that I interviewed Lynsey earlier this year here, it was great seeing the designs so close and personal. She is one designer that I always think her pieces look like she has been in design for 20 years and not just the years that she has. Certainly, one to watch for the future.
Choice Boutique
Choice Boutique had a great mix of easily wearable pieces as well as occasion wear. The pieces they showcased were all quite versatile and certainly if you were looking for something to wear on a sun holiday they would a great place to pop into. The shoes worn in this show were supplied by the Prego Shoe store opposite Choice and I have been in since and added so many pairs of boots to my wishlist 🙂
Willow Boutique
Willow is one of my favourite boutiques in Galway – they are always on trend with their stock and their price points vary as well so in general, you can find something for most occasions. The stores stock brands such as Guess, Ted Baker, Vila, Vera Moda, Essentiel and so much more – literally beautiful brands from around the world.
Overall the day was wonderful – I love these events as they are great to socialise with other bloggers and fashion lovers. The catwalk shows are also free to the public so if there is another one I would certainly say to pop along – they are fun and there are also some yummy sweet treats along the way.
Here are my top 3 tips for Fashion Trail First-Timers;
- Check the weather forecast. I have made this mistake before – you will be walking store to store so need to be prepared for rain if it is forecast. The last thing you want is to have your hair and makeup looking ‘on fleek‘ and then get washed out.
- Wear comfy shoes – this is a full day of walking. Be comfy! Also – Galway cobblestones can be slippy espscially if wet so please keep that in mind as well. The last thing you want is a sprained ankle.
- Keep an open mind – there may be stores on the fashion trail that you normally would not shop in – pop along to see their show as you may be surprised. There are some stores which would not be somewhere I would normally go into but then have seen some beautiful pieces that I have gone back afterwards and purchased.
If you are looking for some fab bloggers to follow then here is the listing from the Galway Fashion Trail – Ruth from The Beauty Kemple, Kieran from the Galway Player, Ruth from Fashion Truth by Ruth, Kerrie from Bella and Vogue, Sinead from Sinead deBlogger, Kate from Pure Irish Sugar, Kerry from Fabulicious Fifty, Shona from Sho Style, Ciara from Ciara S Walsh, Sinead from Yummy Mummy, Dolores from Irish Health Hour and Doireann Garrihy. I really hope that I haven’t missed anyone, I have shared the link where they are most active – so not always a direct blog link! ?
My favourite event of Galway Fashion Week is always the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards – if you would like to read more about the Awards themselves and who the 2017 winners were – click here.
A big thank you to Galway Now Magazine and the Into the West Blogger Network for having me along, the Radisson Blu for hosting us, Bradley Renault for driving us into town in style and all of the wonderful stores and Sarah Mason salon for inviting us in. If you want to see what happened behind the scenes then we were trending on social media under #GalwayFashionTrail & #RadBluGalway
It was great to see some of the upcoming trends and a massive thank you to all the stores who also gave us some goodies to take away as well. I cannot wait to get shopping next weekend as there are certainly some items that I saw that would make some great additions to my wardrobe.
