Joanne Hynes is an Irish Designer whose career I have been following for many years and to be honest, I am still surprised by the creativity and vibrancy of each new collection. And her launch of ‘A Complicated Relationship‘ this September at London Fashion Week was no exception.
The collection launched in the beautiful One Horse Guards Avenue in London and the setting was the perfect setting to the Presentation and also the perfect start to my weekend at London Fashion Week. The entire aesthetic of the room where the presentation was held was industrial and a great contrast against the designs on the runway. Flamboyant is certainly a word that comes to mind about the collection and Joanne clearly had a great time creating and curating the pieces. There was also a certain sense of arty flair that ran throughout the morning and I was so delighted to see that Vogue had picked up the collection and it was online – such a fantastic reward for all the hard work that Joanne has clearly put in.
In this collection, Joanne was inspired and paid homage to Irish Revolutionaries Maud Gonne and Constance Markievicz. Of them, Joanne says, ‘They were irreverent, complex, distinctive, driven; protector, fighter, mother, lover, painter, mourner, fighter. Theirs was/is a complicated relationship with…life, love, motherhood, responsibility, passion, conflict, loss, nostalgia and with the future’.
Her Autumn Winter ‘See Now, Buy Now’ collection was striking, intense, colourful with a wonderful sense of over-indulgence in the bold silhouettes. Every single piece of the collection was sensational in its own right and I loved the unexpected twists and turns that the catwalk brought to us. I did not expect to fall in love with the bold prints like I did – totally not me normally but I was straight onto the Dunnes website after (okay also during) the show to pick up some bits! I especially loved the flamingo print – stunning!!
Prints dominate this season’s collection and the mood is deliciously disruptive. I loved the bright florals in sensational colours combinations – bright pinks to electric blues to deep aubergines. I also loved the porcelain style flowers and unexpected graphic stripes that came through the collection.
If you would like to check out other Joanne Hynes with Dunnes Store Collections you can see more on the below:
- **UPDATE** Spring Summer 2018; You Do You Collection
- Spring Summer 2017 Collection; A Russian Rendezvous
- Autumn Winter 2016 First Collection for Dunnes Stores (Bring on Winter)
- Q&A with Joanne from her first launch
And if you are ever wondering on how to style pieces from Joanne’s collections in real life – there is a fab Instagram account called Veterinary_Princess_Diva that you should check out. Linda has a fantastic eye for detail and I love her style and she also loves Joanne Hynes so many of the ready to wear pieces from the catwalk she has featured.
I would certainly advise you to check out Joanne’s own website and follow along behind the scenes on her Instagram. She is on Twitter and Facebook as well. And if you are quick then you may be able to snap something up one of her pieces on the Dunnes Stores website. Were there any pieces that caught your eye from the AW17 #JHxDS Collection?
