I don’t get excited by new designers often so it was wondrfully refreshing to see not only a new designer that has me taking a sharp intake of breath but an Irish one. Natalie B Coleman is a graduate of Limerick School of Art and Design and Central St Martins in London. Her latest collection sits alongside the Irish designers featured in Brown Thomas Dublin for Autumn Winter 2011. I’m betting that this is one new designer whom if she continues in this way has a very successful future ahead.
‘All the Jewellery I Never Got’ is the title of the Autumn/Winter 2011/12 collection. It is a collection of print, layering and whimsical storytelling.
All the illustrations are hand drawn, water coloured and digitally printed on silks, making the fabrics 100% unique and original to the NATALIEBCOLEMAN label.
One rule of selling in our showroom is that you never rush customers, or worse run out and leave it while customers are there, but not being a person who always sticks to the rules, that is precisely what I did yesterday. Three customers arrived in together and I ran to Brown Thomas to meet with Joy Jaffe and view the latest new collection just arrived from Raoul. I just had a hunch that this was one appointment not to be missed and boy was my hunch correct.
Raoul launched in 2002 and started life as a menswear shirt company with its own store and by happenstance and great forethought (due to women asking first for shirts and then clothing) evolved into a full women’s wear collection in 2008. It’s resounding success is in no small part due to the enigmatic and hugely talented Joy Jaffe who appeared on the Times list of most influential names in fashion in 2002. Joys background and roots lie firmly in the business of fashion and with her unique blend of marketing and brand management skills she has steered Raoul in the right direction for success.
The Raoul collection is simple in its concept and uniquely stunning in its execution. What’s more surprising is the pricing which puts it inthe excellent value category. Beautiful detailing and leather accents in quality fabrics which are cut to fit are key to this collection. This is a confident collection with pieces that can be worn in several ways and accessories that are perfect partners yet would happily stand alone. Raoul is now available exclusively in Brown Thomas in Dublin.
Oh how time flies, it doesn’t seem like six months since I was previewing Spring Summer and now here I was early this morning catching up with fashion friends Bairbre Power, Constance Harris, Celia Holman Lee and Cathy O’Connor . Swapping stories and eagerly watching the beautiful models who showed what is in store for Autumn Winter. There were lots of reminders of the 70′s and 80′s both in colour and shapes. Three quarter reefer coats in tweed, dropped shoulders, purple, mustard and wine tones and chunky knitwear all made an appearance. Lots of satchel bags and ankle boots were on show paired with opaque tights which continue to be the leg covering of choice.
Lots of the collections are already on the rails and this mornings show gave us a really stunningly beautiful preview of some of the main collections on offer. All is well in Brown Thomas and notable stand out labels for me included the Iconic French Vionnet, simple and elegant, Roksanda Illincic in beautifully draped colour, new to Brown Thomas is stylist to the stars first collection, Rachel Zoe with fabulous trouser and tuxedo suits and from Victoria Beckham elegance with a twist.
It’s quite common in London, Paris and New York Art Museums to put on exhibitions featuring Fashion. It’s very unusual in Ireland and even more so when it is a designer who has only been on the world stage since 2009. An exhibition of celebrated Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou opened at IMMA last night. IMMA is one of Irelands gems, a Modern Art Museum housed in the historic buildings of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham. As part of the on going twentieth anniversary celebrations of the opening of IMMA, Brown Thomas have put together this specially curated exhibition. The exhibition pieces will be on display in the Brown Thomas windows from Monday next. A spectacular retrospective of the past four seasons is on display at IMMA . The video below is interesting because the designer is interviewed about her current collection and the inspiration for her amazing graphic prints which can also be seen. Mary Katrantzou proves without a doubt that in this case at least Fashion is definitely Art of an incredibly high standard.
Each year Brown Thomas does their bit for charity and in particular Breast Cancer Awareness and research. This year is no exception and today 19-year-old Georgia May Jagger, darling model daughter of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger was in town to launch the ‘It’ charity bag for this Summer. A tote designed by Marc Jacobs which goes on sale in Brown Thomas tomorrow at 9 am and selling for €35, this is a must have for all those who love a designer bargain and want to do their bit for Action Breast Cancer and the Europa Donna Ireland charities.
I wrote a piece about the new Christian Louboutin Boutique in Brown Thomas Dublin a few weeks ago which is doing a roaring trade, and by all accounts a huge success. Not all the shoes there are of the four inch heel variety so I could easily find a comfortable pair to adorn my aging (and now bunion adorned feet) if I so desired.
These babies from the latest collection (and very beautiful to look at ) would certainly challenge the pain threshold on lots of feet I know.
“I hate the whole concept of comfort. It’s like when people say, ‘Well, we’re not really in love, but we’re in a comfortable relationship.’ You’re abandoning a lot of ideas when you are too into comfort. ‘Comfy’ – that’s one of the worst words! I just picture a woman feeling bad, with a big bottle of alcohol, really puffy.” – Christian Louboutin
For this Spring think Crayola colours. The Hyper Colour trend was seen in all the Spring/Summer catwalk collections. It’s not an easy trend to get right so for a really simple way to work it, use the tried and tested ultimate accessory, tights. Lets face it, it’s still pretty cold yet it’s time to ring in the new season so what better way to play with the new colours than to dress your legs. All the colours team well with black so you can’t go wrong.
Brown Thomas have a great selection of coloured Falke tights in 50 denier which are bang on the colour.
The election is over and almost as if in celebration town was busy, the streets were full and women were shopping. It was all oohs, aahs and red bags being filled today in the new Christian Louboutin shoe Boutique in Dublin’s Brown Thomas Grafton Street store. It’s wonderful to see such an iconic world leading designer having faith and opening a boutique in Ireland. I brought my assistant Selina Fairbairn with me who wore one of her favorite pairs of Louboutin high heeled Mary Jane’s and who walked quite a distance to get there in them. She tells me they are the most comfortable shoes she owns which is more than vital when it comes to shoes. If you can’t walk in comfort the pain shows on your face and I have had more than one occasion when the contorted shapes my face twisted into due to excruciating foot pain resulted in me walking barefoot (once in London’s west end!). The lovely sales assistant I talked to, Erica, wasn’t exaggerating when I caught up with her as she served yet another customer and told me that the boutique has been incredibly busy since it opened quietly a couple of weeks ago.
I will go back when it is less busy and try some on, I have my eye on at least two pairs, one of which is a flat studded shoe and the other a beautifully crafted basic round toed court. I had my camera with me and managed to take just a few pictures, between sips of champagne which was being handed around to all.
I mentioned in an earlier post about quality and statement dressing and how these were on the up as smart thinking women are cleverly buying pieces that will last and give great value per wear. I’m fed up with the race to the bottom with some buyers struggling to pass this key message onto their customers. One boutique owner told me today that once a dress goes over €200 it gets much harder to sell it. How can we address this sad state of affairs. We know that money is tight and the whole country is overwhelmed by depressing stories of doom and gloom. We know that there is a lot of truth in that and that we could all just stay in bed for a year or two until it all passes. I prefer a more pro active approach where we talk about how important it is to look good, not just for our self esteem (and god knows that’s important enough) but for our whole presentation. The fact of standing up and walking tall in good quality clothes cleverly put together is vital to our recovery as a vibrant successful people. Rant over…
As if to agree with me these images from the Louise Kennedy photo shoot at Dublin Airports T2 arrived into my in- box this afternoon. Louise Kennedy has been doing fabulous statement dressing for yonks. She knows how to cleverly use key pieces and this season is no exception. Colour blocking and more than a passing reference to the 70′s and Louise Kennedy has come up with exactly the sort of clothes that sharpen my appetite.
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