#LFW Part 1: UNFOLD – Irish Designer Fashion Week Presentation!

Unfold: #ID2015
An Official London Fashion Week event.

The Fashion Whirlwind:

London Fashion Week – one of the world’s highest profile designer showcases. My first Fashion Week and my first time in London!
The excitement!

I was lucky enough to have received a ton of invitations to phenomenal shows however, I was only there for a few days and unfortunately had to miss out on attending some. I made the most of my time there like any self-respecting fashionista would and embraced a couple of shows including the incredible ‘Unfold‘ Irish Design Showcase Presentation!

Irish Design and Designers were represented by some phenomenal masters of their craft and firmly present on the bill for London Fashion Week 2015 – with Unfold billed as an ‘Official London Fashion Week event’.

Designer Showcase:

The Unfold Presentation consisted of 11 Irish Designers: Manley, Dorai, Natalie B Coleman, Chupi, Martha Lynn Millinery, We Are Islanders, Honour Fitzsimons, Jill de Burca, Laura Kinsella, Helen Steele and Montague and Capulet

These designers showcased on the Irish Design 2015 international programme of events having been chosen following a call out earlier this year with over 40 applications.
Judges from ID2015, Design Crafts Council Ireland, key media representatives and international buyers were involved in the selection process.

Manley:

Emma Manley: Owner and Creative force behind fashion label Manley.

Having been a fan of Manley creations for a while now, I was excited to meet the woman behind the label at London Fashion Week 2015. A few weeks previously, I had been utterly elated when Emma personally invited me to see her latest collection at London Fashion Week and I am still in awe of her and forever grateful to her for extending such an invitation to me. #legend

Armed with said invitation to peruse the Unfold Presentation, I rocked up to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London where the showcase was taking place and located Emma.

Emma Manley started her fashion label in 2010 and my oh my, has she come far in the fashion world! Friendly, approachable, genuine and one of those people you just want to be friends with – Emma is a pleasure to speak with and graciously talked me through her latest collection when I was treated to a preview of Unfold at London Fashion Week.

The S/S16 Collection from Manley, focuses on incorporating colour into the staple Manley silhouette whilst keeping the instantly recognisable allure of a Manley piece.
*I’ll be delving deeper into Manley S/S16 Collection and Manley as a brand in another part of my #LFW2015 Blog Series, so keep an eye out for that soon!

Chupi:

Irish contemporary jewellery designer Chupi Sweetman-Pell finds inspiration in the beauty of nature and her original hand sketched designs take life in the the form of exquisite cut and dedication to her craft evident in her collections, featuring objects from the wild such as twigs, leaves, feathers and acorns.

Known for her more delicate pieces, the latest collection has incorporated statement jewellery in the form of heavier pieces, giving the collection a little something for everyone!

I’ll also be shining a spotlight on Chupi as a brand in my LFW Series so stay tuned folks!

We Are Islanders:

We Are Islanders is known as a contemporary design label that meshes heritage and craft with ethical production. The collection is inspired by a mythical island which was believed to be located off the coast of Ireland. This collection is reminiscent of a resort wear collection and I adore the fresh colour palette.

Natalie B Coleman:

Feminine, funky, contemporary – is how I would describe the thought-provoking and magical creations from Natalie B Coleman. The theme is Support Your Local Girl Gang and again I adore the colour palette and the print on skirts and blouses.

Martha Lynn Millinery:

Fashion Fact:

Having interned in London with Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones in 2010, Martha returned to Dublin and started her own label – and these creations are some of the incredible results!

Capulet and Montague:

Characteristics of Lisa McCormack’s designs for Capulet and Montague are a modern, boldness with a simplicity and purity in design allowing the designs and materials speak for themselves!

Honour Fitzsimons:

Fashion Fact:

With a BA in Fashion Design and Knitwear behind her as well as a host of intern-ships at some of the most prestigious Fashion Houses such as Diane von Furstenberg in New York, Honour is known for her love of creating edgy, wearable, versatile, yet cosy pieces. This collection does not disappoint and is as versatile as ever.

More snap-shots from the Unfold Preview:

Laura Kinsella hat (white) – features as well as pieces from the other showcasing designers.

Dorai:

A hand-crafted jewellery line from Maria Dorai-Raj who has honed the goldsmithing techniques she learned in Florence, Italy to produce her very own jewellery collection.

Taking in the views over London on the balcony at ICA.

The Outfit:

My head to toe high street look shows you can attend Fashion Week and not break the bank!

Eventually, I would of course love to incorporate and showcase designs from some Irish Designers or featured Designers to future shows I’ll be attending (who wouldn’t?), but for this look I decided on a “High Street Meets Fashion Week” look.

Look features: Penneys (Primark), H&M, Vero Moda and Dunnes Stores and Mango.
Hair: Major thanks to my girl Emma in Peter Mark.

Nails: “Amazing Amy” of Vanity Rooms.
Make-up: applied by yours truly – featuring Urban Decay, L’Oréal, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Sleek Make-up, Rimmel, Topshop, and Catrice.

That concludes Part One of my London Fashion Week experience – check back soon for Part Two!

Massive thanks you’s go first and foremost to: Emma Manley for her kind invitation to Unfold, Chupi for talking me through her designs and all of the other designers showcasing, as well as Justine from the PR and Ryanair for a great first experience flying with them!

Thanks for stopping by guys!

I hope you enjoyed my first instalment of my experiences at London Fashion Week! Any pieces catch your eye? Who is your favourite Irish Designer? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to know!

Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon!

Gail. xx

Photography © Gail O’Connor.

*Apologies for this going up later than I had planned guys, I picked up a nasty virus whilst in London and have been fighting it since!
As some of you may know by now, I’m not one to put up a shallow, rushed blog post just to get it up quickly, so this post was a labour of love as per usual! ♥