Dublin Fashion Week
Since its inception in October 2005, Dublin Fashion Week has proven to be the most important fashion event in Ireland for our local and international design talent. Dublin Fashion Week (DFW) provides a much needed and valuable platform to showcase the forthcoming collections to the press, buyers and stylists who attend the event over the course of the event.
DFW has grown exponentially over the last four years from a small and independent enterprise without the benefit of corporate sponsorship to become a power house in terms of promoting the benefits and inherent talent in the Irish fashion industry. With such a varied pool of optimism that has been shown at the event, it has been hugely encouraging to see the careers of participating designers blossom and allow them to become household names in their own right.
The unique appeal of DFW lies in its ability to provide the journalists and editors from the local, national and international publications that visit the event to meet the designers and view the collections from nearly 30 labels every season. Over the last number of seasons we have welcomed numerous international labels and designers to DFW which have proven to be exciting and very worthwhile additions.
Members of the public have also benefitted hugely from all that DFW has been able to provide over the last four years. “The Talks”, our series of short presentations from industry insiders has enabled those who are working in or studying fashion, design, marketing or business and those who are interested in finding out more about the fashion industry to learn, first hand, about what makes each guest tick.
Just some of the high calibre of visiting speakers that have been brought in include the European Editor of Fashion Wire Daily; Godfrey Deeny, the Buying Director from Brown Thomas; Stephen Sealey and designers such as Helen McAlinden, Gordon Richardson (Topman), Jonathan Kirby (Levis), and couturier Peter O’Brien.
DFW has been presenting catwalk shows each season to showcase the talent that is evident throughout Ireland and that is representing Ireland on the international stage. DFW scored a massive coup when international designer Matthew Williamson showed his Spring Summer collection outside of New York for the first time in five years. Dublin Fashion Week has also welcomed John Rocha, Lainey Keogh, Paul Costelloe, Sharon Wauchob, and Pauric Sweeney, proving that the global credibility of DFW is well and truly on the rise. These shows are open to the public and are always booked out well in advance due to the unique perspective it provides fans of fashion in this country.
In August 2009, DFW introduced the first Fashion Awards ceremony which honoured those who have championed Irish fashion both here and abroad. Categories included Best Retailer, Best Accessories Designer, International Achievement and the Motorola Designer of the Year which was won by John Rocha.
MDFW Success Stories
- In 2005 Eileen Shields won the Brown Thomas accessories designer of the year at Dublin Fashion Week and then went on to have her collections stocked in the Brown Thomas Shoe Rooms nationwide
- Two time award winner at Dublin Fashion Week, Joanne Hynes has been both the Designer of the Year (2006) and a recipient of the Brown Thomas Designer Mentor Programme (2007) which saw her retail the collection for two weeks in March 2008. February 2009 sees Joanne’s collection welcomed into its own concession on the 2nd Floor of the flagship Brown Thomas, Grafton St store.
- In 2007, Tim Ryan was one of three winners of the Brown Thomas Designer Mentor Programme at MDFW. In 2008, he was the sole recipient of the John Rocha Bursary Award which saw a grant of €10,000 to further develop his label. Tim also staged his first solo show to high acclaim.
- Other winners of the Brown Thomas Designer Mentor Programme include Eilis Boyle, Jennifer Rothwell, Vivien Walsh and Mary Grant. Mary and Tim recorded phenomenally successful sales figures for the duration of their individual pop-up stores in Brown Thomas.
- For The Talks, examples of the calibre of speakers include Godfrey Deeny (European Editor of FWD), Stephen Sealey (Buying Director for Womenswear, Accessories and Childrenswear for the Brown Thomas Group), Gordon Richardson (Design Director for Topman), designer Helen Mc Alinden, Jonathan Kirby (designer for Levis) and Philip Stephens (designer for Unconditional and owner of Concrete PR and store in London).