Last night marked the launch of the sixth annual Dublin Fashion Festival, and this year’s festival has been extended to a whole week of fabulous fashion and events. Held in the stunning Dublin City Hall with art installations from Balla Bán Art, attendees were treated to canapés courtesy of San Lorenzo’s (have you read my review on Cookie FM?) and cocktails by The Meeting House. You may remember that last year I was the official blogger for the festival, getting an insight into the whole festival from the launch to street fashion shows and more. This year I was happy to attend as Killer Fashion and to be in front of the camera rather than behind it. Once attendees were seated, CEO of Dublin Town Richard Guiney gave an introductory speech that was short & sweet, followed by Clyde Carroll, the main man & Marketing Director behind the festival. His speech was thorough in thanking all the people who helped on the upcoming events. He also thanked Naked Coconut Water, the official drinks sponsor of the festival, who will be hosting an end-of-festival picnic – so keep an eye out for that, and Canon Ireland, the official partner sponsor of the festival! Roz Purcell was also in attendance, as the brand ambassador for Naked, looking gorgeous as always. Clyde then revealed who the Face of the Festival is…Pippa O’Connor-Ormond! Pippa came out in a fabulous jumpsuit & heels from Arnotts, telling us how honoured she is to have been chosen as this year’s representative, before kicking off the festival launch fashion show. I have always wanted Pippa to be the face of the festival, and am more than delighted with this announcement. To the event I was happy to finally wear my Mary Grant tulle skirt with this Boohoo dress and use my new Urban Decay #NakedSmoky palette, (full outfit details coming soon!).
“When I was a child, shopping in Dublin and walking down Grafton Street, I came to realize that it really is a special place. And it still has that sparkle today. We stand tall beside the big fashion capitols like London, New York and Paris. We have that sense of fun when we shop, there’s so many great places to go to eat & drink in Dublin, and also to find the right outfits.” – Pippa O’Connor-Ormond
The fashion show was a wondrous spectacle, showcasing what the shops & brands of Dublin have in store for us. It featured upcoming trends, throwbacks, breathtakingly beautiful pieces and some extremely sharp suits for the men with music spun out by the 98FM in-house DJ. It was just brilliant! The trends include the blanket and caped coats, tassel & fringe heels and details, 70s boho chic, mustard, gold & black combinations, military stripe motifs, evening gloves, headpieces & headscarves, glittery tracksuits, sheer lace & crochet, monochrome look, and chunky, embellished or strappy heels. We sure have quite some fashion for the AW15 season. The models walked brilliantly for the show, represented by 1st Option by Jules Fallon, with hair and makeup by Toni & Guy. Some of my favourite Irish models walked in the show, including my most favourite model, Holly Carpenter – it also helped that her outfits were some of my top choices from the night!
After the show, Clyde & Pippa returned center stage to announce the winners for the following; Best Dressed Male went to Conor Merriman, Best Dressed Female went to Morgana Murphy and Best Tweet went to my best friend Kassi Cheirogeorgo of Just Kassi.
Goodie bags were also given to many of the fashionable ladies & gents on the night, which included generous gifts & vouchers from Penneys, Starbucks, Bestseller, Pieces, ONLY, Arnotts, Boots, Tommy Hilfiger, The Blazing Salads, Mars, Naked, Aurora, Propercorn, City Jet, Ilac Centre, Evoke.ie, Mao, Debenhams and Water Wipes, and invited to afters at The Meeting House.
A big thank you to Richard, Clyde, Amanda, Annemarie and Daniel of Dublin Town & Dublin Fashion and all their volunteers, to Sadhbh Higgins of Elevate PR, to San Lorenzo’s & The Meeting House and all the staff at Dublin City Hall.
Catch the Dublin Fashion Festival from 7th-13th September 2015
Photos © Nirina Plunkett, Andres Poveda, Jerry McCarthy, Dublin Fashion, Just Kassi
Killer Fashion 