The Irish Fashion Innovation Awards are one of my favourite Irish Fashion Nights of the year. The talent that graces that catwalk is second to none and I love discovering new emerging designers in both the Student Designer and Ones to Watch Categories. This is, in fact, their 9th year of holding the Awards and today I wanted to share all about the night. You may remember that I have shared previously about the 2016 Awards here and the 2017 Awards here, well the 2018 Awards certainly managed to hold their own!
For those who are not aware, the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards were set up by Goldenegg Productions as an awards platform for fashion designers and fashion students, showcasing the highest expression of creativity from the most innovative designers in Ireland. Recognised as a launching pad for Ireland’s most talented designers, the event attracts entries from promising fashion creatives competing for the prestigious Awards. Personally, I think that they are a great stepping stone for designers to get their work seen by others in the industry which can be difficult to do especially for those just starting out.
“The Goldenegg Irish Fashion Innovation Awards are unique to Ireland. They are seen as providing a rite of passage for many of our top designers as they make their way up the rungs of the fashion ladder. We have a fantastic track record to date with some of Ireland’s best-known designers making their national debut at the Goldenegg Irish Fashion Innovation Awards,” – Patricia McCrossan of Goldenegg Productions.
The Awards themselves were held in the newly rebranded Galmont Hotel and Spa, which was just the perfect venue for the occasion. I love attending events there and also can we just take a moment to appreciate how amazing their Spa is! You can read all about the facial I had there here, and I even went back last December as loved it so much (and in the Winter my skin needs a lot of TLC!).
The judges this year had an exceptionally hard job. If you would like to see the full list of finalists you can click here. The judging panel in 2018 was made up of Eddie Shanahan, Producer and Creative Director of The Irish Fashion Innovation Awards; Carolyn Moore, Freelance Writer, Editor and Stylist; and Patricia McCrossan, Managing Director of Goldenegg Productions and GALWAYnow Magazine.
They did an amazing job and the Winners on the Night of the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards 2018 were:- Student Designer of the Year 2018 – Niamh Flynn, NCAD
- Accessory Designer of the Year 2018 – Niamh Daniels
- Jewellery Designer of the Year 2018 – Helena Malone
- Millinery Designer of the Year 2018 – Leonora Ferguson
- Fashion Designer of the Year 2018 – Sarah Murphy
- Innovation Award Winner 2018 – Sarah Murphy
And if you would like to learn more about some of the winning designers – we have interviewed some of them here:
A massive thank you to Galway Now for the lovely invitation to attend and I truly enjoyed myself and loved seeing all the amazing creations on the Catwalk. The event was sponsored by the fabulous Galway Now Magazine as well as Hartmann’s of Galway, Brown Thomas, Local Enterprise Office Galway, Standún, The Galmont Hotel & Spa, Galway, the Gate Clinic – Smiles Dental and Monaghan & Sons.
If you would like to learn more about Irish Design I would suggest reading more interviews with Irish Designers here, learn more about the DDCOI here and of course keep following Galway Now! What was your favourite look of the night?
