FASHION: CREATE MEET THE MAKERS

Visit In Store - Friday 16th, 11am-5pm

SORCHA O’RAGHALLAIGH

Sorcha blends art and fashion, through a love of handmade craft and ornamental detailing, giving her ready-to-wear designs a sense of ceremony. The designer’s investment in the “quality, history and passing on of handmade skills” is reflected in the motifs, symbolism and iconography that characterise her unmistakable aesthetic and have garnered her an A-List following which includes Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue, amongst others.

Visit In Store - Friday 16th, 11am-5pm

CLARE O’CONNOR

Clare O’Connor’s silk and cashmere scarf collection evolved organically from her vibrant art work. Produced in Como in Italy in small print runs, they are limited editions of O’Connor’s paintings, seasonless and collectible, promoting a slow sustainable approach to fashion. Her collections are available in natural fabrics including silk, cashmere, wool, model, linen and bamboo.

Visit In Store - Thursday 8th, 11am-5pm

JOHANNA DOOLEY

Born in lockdown, To Dye For By Johanna answered the call for mood-lifting loungewear and accessories. Johanna’s experience in the fashion industry prior to setting up her own label informed the values behind her new leisurewear brand as each garment is sourced. Johanna’s latest collection for CREATE was designed with summer at home at the forefront of her mind, the loungewear collection of sweatshirts, sweatpants and tees is filled with mood-boosting pops of colour.

Visit In Store - Saturday 17th, 11am-5pm

YVONNE RYAN

Uniqueness and design are key focuses behind Yvonne Ryan jewellery. Each piece is handcrafted using a combination of traditional bench techniques and modern design. They are created with recycled gold and silver and produced locally. Heavily influenced by vintage finds, as well as texture, Yvonne’s signature geometric print and rope chain texture are consistently evident throughout every collection.

Visit In Store - Thursday 15th, 2pm-6pm

DOIREANN HEALY

Begley and Bowie is an art and sustainable fashion brand that features whimsical slogans and fluorescent accents, which celebrate people and places of note, from artists and playwrights to much-loved Irish locations, which are all hand drawn prior to being printed. Although relatively new to the market, launching in 2019, Begley and Bowie is already proved a firm favourite with consumers of all ages.

Visit In Store - Thursday 8th, 11am-5pm

AOIFE ROONEY

Architect turned fashion and environmental designer Aoife Rooney founded aoife® a luxury Irish brand that offers a multi-layered approach to luxury and sustainability. Her artisan, multi-functional, and gender-neutral bags are handcrafted using regenerated and reclaimed materials from ghost fishing nets and fabrics destined for landfills. The recently-launched luxury Irish brand has been featured in British Vogue and has already placed on the designers' board for change with other well-known international designers like Gucci, Prada and Stella McCartney.

Visit In Store - Friday 9th, 11am-5pm

NICKI HOYNE

Irish handbag and shoe designer Nicki Hoyne will introduce exclusive new colourways in her handbag and shoe collections for CREATE. Her statement crossbody camera bags celebrate individuality, vibrancy and showcase her passion for well-made, slow fashion products. The new colourways include a white python style and a black python style with monochromatic pony hair stripes. Nicki’s shoe collection introduces pointed-toe flats in colourways such as green croc with neon pink tassel detailing, silver glitter with red tassel detailing and white python with blue tassel detailing.

Visit In Store - Saturday 10th, 11am-5pm

BARBARA BENNETT

Designer Barbara Bennet’s hand-painted customised sneakers are mostly pattern-based, inspired by vibrant colourful prints and floral motifs from her grandmother’s garden. The Galway-based 26-year-old entrepreneur has designed a capsule collection exclusively for CREATE, comprised of hand painted one-of-a-kind designs on the iconic streetwear classic sneakers, Nike Air Force 1’s and Nike Air Max 90’s.

Visit In Store - Friday 16th, 11am-5pm

FAYE DINSMORE & CIARA HARRISON

This year’s showcase sees Faye Dinsmore, top Irish model, return with her first ever range of sweaters created in collaboration with textile designer Ciara Harrison. The collection fuses the collaborators interest in the use of stitch and embellishment to present an exquisitely unique array of sweaters.

ANNA GUERIN

Founder Anna Guerin brings two decades of design and tailoring skill, as well as a deep love and respect for the unique heritage of Irish textiles to The Landskein. Her work presents modern refined tailoring that embodies a sense of place, tradition and impeccable craftsmanship reflected in the label’s line of tailored coats and blazers. All of the label's tweeds are exclusive to The Landskein and are made by fifth-generation weavers in County Donegal, with many of their yarns spun locally in Kilcar.

Photo - Mediahuis

Riley Marchant and Max Lynch

Mobius is a sustainable high-quality clothing brand aiming to give back to the world. The Dublin-based company cares about the planet and wants to create long-lasting clothing for everyone, all of their garments are made exclusively using sustainable water-based inks within their graphics and 100% natural rayon viscose thread within the embroidery. The collection comprises of graphic T-shirts, sweatshirts and joggers.

REBECCA MARSDEN

Rebecca Marsden is an award-winning fashion designer whose distinctive style has earned her both national and international recognition. Her work focuses largely on processes and fabric manipulation, exploring the extent to which a concept can be realised and made tangible. Drawing inspiration from her surroundings, informs Rebecca’s work alongside the constant search for new ways to develop materials and re interpret traditional techniques.

Visit In Store - Saturday 17th, 11am-5pm

SARA O'NEILL

Beautiful limited edition prints from the stylist and illustrator Sara O’Neill as she returns to CREATE with her much-loved label Éadach by Sara O'Neill. Sara has reimagined her most popular prints, into sweeping long dresses, kimonos and silk scarves. The combination of her two passions, fashion and art, blend seamlessly to create her unique range of luxury printed textiles.

Visit In Store - Saturday 17th, 11am-5pm

JILL DEERING & GILLIAN HENDERSON

This multidisciplinary studio is made up of creative duo Jill Deering ‘illustrator' and Gillian Henderson ‘printmaker’. Together, they are Jill & Gill, an award-winning Irish brand with a fresh approach to illustration and print across fine art, fashion and design. They create meaningful and impactful products that give a sense of value in what it means to invest in Irish Design.

LEONORA FERGUSON

CREATE welcomes the return of award winning milliner, Leonora Ferguson, who’s designs have been worn by supermodel and actress, Cara Delevingne. The designer will debut fashion and millinery pieces for the first time, utilising Irish crochet lace techniques across beaded headpieces in black and white styles and blouses crafted from textured Irish linen with daisy motifs seen throughout.

KATIE EARLEY

Earley Hats, founded by Katie Earley, presents hand-made bespoke hats whose previous design credentials include working with world-renowned milliner Philip Treacy, Valentino Couture and Shrimps London. Using traditional hat-making techniques and equipment, Earley’s pieces are inspired by the seasonal colours and changing landscapes of rural Roscommon.

GABRIELLE MALONE

Gabrielle Malone is a luxury knitwear label that focuses on feminine, high-quality garments utilising traditional techniques with contemporary silhouettes. Conscious of the environmental impact of the fashion industry, Gabrielle uses Peruvian wool that is mulesing free and dyed using low impact dyes and makes each piece herself in her studio in Kildare. Her garments celebrate Irish heritage and craft in a contemporary context.

FIONA O’NEILL

CREATE is delighted to debut designer Fiona O’Neill to this year’s showcase. Launched in 2019, Fiona explores themes of surrealism and optical illusions, incorporating different application processes such as screen printing, painting by hand and ceramic sculpting in her eclectic line of trousers, jackets, dresses and shirts. Since graduating from Central Saint Martins, Fiona has received accolades in innovative design and her signature prints and designs have been featured in exhibitions internationally. Fiona sources and use eco-friendly materials in her designs, working towards a more sustainable future.

SHONA MCEVADDY

During the global pandemic, Shona McEvaddy reconnected with her creative roots and launched Basic Juju, a contemporary brand hand dyed and embroidered, aiming to become 100% eco-friendly and sustainable. Her garments highlight the wellbeing of people and the planet, brought to life across hand-embroidered slogans on sweaters and sweatpants in shades of ocean blue, forest green and crisp white.

KATIE ANN MCGUIGAN

Katie Ann McGuigan hails from Newry, Co. Down, but has been busy causing a wonderful stir in London fashion circles, where she now lives. The designer draws from subcultures both at home and abroad to create her eclectic collections and has some colourful fans from Paloma Faith to Pheobe Waller-Bridge. Though the subculture references change from season to season, Katie Ann’s use of contrasting textures, graphic prints and contemporary shapes remain the consistent, recognisable trademark within the narrative that evolves with each collection.

KASIA & BRENDAN MCEVOY

From Mountmellick in the midlands of Ireland, My Name is Ted is a beautiful range of luxury leather accessories which are handcrafted to last a lifetime. The brand is inspired by Ted Carbery, a beloved grandfather, who in the 1950s could only use his mouth and left hand, but persevered to create leather bags and accessories. My Name is Ted returns to CREATE with an exquisite collection of luxury leather handbags and accessories, designed with practicality and adaptability in mind and handcrafted in Italy to an uncompromising luxurious standard.

SILVANA LANDA MCADAM

Juggling a hectic lifestyle that required several bags on the go at once led Silvana Landa to seek a solution and identify a gap in the market. Inspired by memories of her grandfather’s cobbler’s workshop in Argentina, she started her own bag label. The LANDA brand celebrates traditional manufacturing expertise, working with small factories that handcraft each item to bring to life the most exquisite collection of handbags in universal shades of nude, eucalyptus, tan and black. The materials are carefully sourced as part of the brand’s commitment to conscious and ethical production.

NIAMH GILLESPIE

Dedicated to producing elegant, luxurious, hand-painted products using 100% organic silk whilst working in harmony with the environment, this fledgling Irish brand has already amassed quite a dedicated following. Each playfully-conceived item has been brought to life by creative director Niamh Gillespie, whose impressive design pedigree includes working with Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith and Liberty of London. The collection consists of hand-painted dreamy, typographic prints and statement slogans adorned across the line’s silk accessories.

MIRIAM CUSHEN

With one of only two remaining vertical mills in Ireland where local fleece is transformed into beautiful natural textiles, Cushendale’s range of lambswool and mohair blankets and scarves are rooted in six generations of craftsmanship. Today Miriam Cushen works side by side with her father Philip developing new and bold product ranges redefining Irish textiles. Their fully traceable Irish wool comes from Ireland’s only indigenous and protected sheep, the Galway, and is ethically sourced, meaning all their products are made for a sustainable future.

FIADH DURHAM

Fiadh Durham introduces a line of handwoven scarves using only the highest quality yarn sourced from spinners in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Italy. Fiadh takes inspiration from the landscape of the West of Ireland, apparent in the brand’s unique take on traditional weave structures, creating beautiful woven accessories with an edge.

KEVIN OWENS

Sneaker Cleaner, a business founded by Kevin Owens whilst still in secondary school, breathes new life into pre-loved sneakers, utilising a range of techniques to revitalise footwear to be worn time and time again. Owens’ business has tapped into the behemoth of sneaker street style culture that has emerged in the past couple of years.

To give your sneakers a second life, drop them into Owens in our Grafton Street Store; Thursday from 5.30pm till close, and Saturday/Sunday from 10am till close .

LYDIA GING

The D8 Candle Co was born at home in the heart of Dublin 8, Ireland. Founder, Lydia has a love of industrial design, high-quality handcrafted items and, of course, beautiful fragrances. D8 Candles are hand poured using the highest grade soy wax with scents that are inspired by moments and memories from growing up in Ireland. Each vessel is hand-cast, making every D8 Candle unique. They are refillable, reusable and can be repurposed.

Photo - Graham Atkins Hughes

LAURA QUINN

Laura is an Irish designer and glass blower who makes beautiful glass objects by hand, with the assistance of new digital technologies to create products which are repairable, recyclable and more sustainable. Through use of modular and interchangeable design her pieces become highly bespoke and offer the user a wide range of design possibilities. The movement given to the pieces through use of soft materials such as recyclable silicon rubber and repurposed leather allow the glass to become more durable and easily repairable.

LAURA BEASLEY

A florist specialising in dried flower arrangements, Laura Beasley is the creative talent behind Paper Daisy. Handmade with love, her indoor dried flower wreaths are everlasting.

ORLA DE BRI

This year CREATE will boast work from critically acclaimed Irish artist, Orla de Brí for the first time ever. Sculptor Orla de Brí’s unique, elegantly stylized figures and objects are familiar to many, moulded in a variety of materials including bronze, steel, stone and fibreglass. De Brí has had six major solo shows, completed over twenty-five large-scale public sculpture commissions internationally and her work is housed in many significant private collections, including that of actress Hilary Swank.

ADAM FREW

One of Ireland’s most well-regarded ceramicists, Adam Frew Ceramics creates functional porcelain pieces and large one-off pots. His pieces are clean, traditional, forms thrown on the potter’s wheel that subtly show the makers hand and create a sense of life from the craftsmanship of his work. His perfectly formed tableware is decorated in spontaneous mark-making, a contrast to the finely thrown porcelain. Sharp lines, crayon scribbles, brush marks and sponged back sections reflect the energy and passion Adam invests in his craft.

STEPHANIE FINNEY

NCAD fashion design student Stephanie Finney is this year’s winner of the Brown Thomas Designer to Watch Bursary Award 2021. A final year fashion design student in the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Stephanie impressed judges on the strength of her collection Easing Restrictions, which was inspired by the change in society’s attire due to the recent pandemic and features clothing that is “flexible for all situations during the pandemic, both casual and formal”.

ÚNA CURRAN

Last year’s winner of the Brown Thomas Designer to Watch Bursary Award, Úna Curran returns to exhibit custom made pieces created especially for this year’s showcase.