The 10th annual Irish Fashion Innovation Awards, hosted by Goldenegg Productions, will present a spectacular showcase from Ireland’s most promising designers on 14th March, 2019 at The Galmont Hotel & Spa in Galway (formerly Radisson Blu).
The show will feature the most exciting Irish design talent across a range of disciplines – fashion, millinery, jewellery and accessories. Many of the designers featured in the past have already established themselves in markets as diverse as New York, Ibiza and London.
These awards continually aspire to showcase the most cutting-edge designers to an incredibly fashion conscious audience and are recognised as a launching pad for Ireland’s most talented fashion creatives. This year, a selection of aspiring designers, including students from fashion colleges throughout the country, will showcase their innovative creations as finalists in the following categories:
Accessory Designer of the Year 2019
The 2019 Accessories category will feature scarves, wraps and bags from the following artists and designers:
Clare O’Connor
Rita White
Nicole Jackson
Jewellery Designer of the Year 2019
The 2019 Jewellery category will feature the following three distinguished jewellers as finalists, each with a very different aesthetic:
Emer Roberts
Fiona Mulholland
Emma Jane Champley
Millinery Designer of the Year 2019
The 2019 Millinery category will offer its largest selection ever and include the following designers:
Paul Stafford
Michelle Kearns
Ashleigh Myles
Deb Fanning
Aoife Harrison
Fashion Designer of the Year 2019
The fashion collections to feature in this category include:
Katie Ann McGuigan is a London based Irish designer, who has worked for Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs before setting up her own collection.
Helen Hayes is known for her exquisite occasion wear with intricate cuts and detail and its architectural aesthetic
Alanagh Clegg for Four Threads, produces a trans seasonal quality conscious and handcrafted collection in ethically sourced fabrics. Four Threads strives to create ‘collectable’ pieces that layer up or down and evolve through the seasons.
Amie Egan, creates designs rooted in functional and traditional garments, utility-wear and sportswear. Oversized outerwear garments and a fascination with ‘the weather’ drive the collection.
Anne Behan for the Aine Collection, uses an eclectic mix of inspirations and ideas to create her contemporary collection that draws on the authenticity, craftsmanship and heritage of Irish knitwear. The collection is stocked in New York, Tokyo, Ottawa and many other cities across the globe.
Ones to Watch
This section of the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards will include daring and proactive presentations from the following designers:
Colin Burke who has featured in Elle magazine and recently been commissioned to create a special piece for Vogue Contributing Editor Sinead Burke.
Alla by Alla Sinkevich, a truly challenging but wearable aesthetic that highlights the creativity and craftsmanship of a new generation of Irish based designers.
Charlotte Lucas offers an elegant, effortless and luxurious Bridal Capsule Collection for Alternative Brides and for Brides to wear on those special occasions around their Wedding.
Arvydas by Arvydas Zapivalovas is a knitwear collection in exquisite natural yarns – cashmere, merino, cotton – with a clean contemporary aesthetic.
Student Designer of the Year
DECADE-NCE, a luxuriously indulgent look at a favourite decade in fashion, is the theme for this year’s Student Design Competition at the IFI Awards. Seven colleges from all over Ireland will compete.
As this is the 10th Anniversary of The Irish Fashion Innovation Awards, we will have a special finalé as we celebrate spectacular design showcasing Irish fashion with an International flavour as part of the evening’s Awards schedule. Keep an eye on the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards Facebook page for more to come: IFIA FACEBOOK