Council of Irish Fashion Designers AW16 Presentation

“Design is not for philosophy it’s for life”, Issey Miyake 

I believe that fashion needs to keep moving forward and move with society as it changes so I was delighted when I seen that the Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) was going to live stream their AW16 Presentation on Periscope. They still held their catwalk showcase in the Peter Mark Studio, Dublin however they then live tweeted a link from their @CIFDTweets account so anyone could pop on and watch. 

The catwalk show started with an introduction from the wonderful Eddie Shanahan (Chairperson of the CIFD) who spoke about how we are always looking forward and interesting from the view point that for those in work in fashion – this season was over 2 1/4 years ago, next season is over and done and we already have our memories from AW17. It is always fascinating to me how far ahead some mediums work.

I enjoyed his talk on how fashion is changing and this certainly echos my own thoughts  – that it is a business that has changed beyond recognition in recent years with developments in social media encouraging a see now, buy now market place. Even even the fashion seasons seem to be changing due to fast fashion, just look at Burberry who are going to move to a see now / buy now business model. It will certainly be interesting to see how the fashion industry changes in the next 2-5 years.

“With my eyes turned to the past, I walk backwards into the future”, Yohji Yamamoto

The CIFD also believes that our fashion heritage, our fashion past, is the basis of our fashion future. This idea really appeals to me and we need to make sure that there is an emphasis on craftsmanship, techniques, the ability to weave & sew and pattern cutting when designers are learning in college. There are so many talented designers emerging and we need to make sure that they have the tools to be successful.

Presenting not just a working wardrobe but a wardrobe that works. This was the introduction to the AW16 presentations and the pieces on show were just beautiful. The variation of skills on display were stunning examples of outstanding Irish Talent and craftsmanship. I don’t have images for all of the designers showcases and Hazel Greene and Caroline Mitchell are two which sadly I am missing – but certainly check out their websites here and here.

For those who are not familiar the Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) is comprised of  Irish fashion designers, milliners and accessories labels. It is an organisation that promotes Irish Design and wishes to build an aspirational brand for the premium sector of the Irish fashion industry and to actively encourage and nurture new entrants to the Irish fashion industry {via}.

The current CIFD members include Kabira Allain from Kymaia, Jill de Burca, Delphine Grandjouan, Hazel Greene, Heidi Higgi, Elaine Keogh, Aoife Kirwan, Richard Lewis, Davina Lynch, Martha Lynn, Emma Manley, Rebecca Marsden, David O’Malley, Caroline Mitchell, Niamh O’Neill, Sophie Rieu, Theo + George, Lisa Ryder and Jennifer Wrynne and you can read more about the CIFD on their website here.

If you would like to read more about some of the designers mentioned above and their inspirations I have actually previously interviewed many of the members of the CIFD and you can find links to the interviews with them below;

• Jill deBurca from Jill deBurca – link
• Hazel Greene from Hazel Greene – link
• Elaine Keogh from Elaine Keogh Millinery – link
• Emma Manley from Manley – link
• Rebecca Marsden from Rebecca Marsden Designs – link
• Caroline Mitchell from Caroline Mitchelle Knitwear- link
• Lisa Ryder from Lisa Ryder Designs – link

I personally am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for these amazing designers and I loved their AW16 Presentations.

All images were kindly provided by Photocall Ireland.