Irish Innovation Fashion Awards Review

I had the pleasure of being invited to the 9th annual Irish Innovation Fashion Awards 2018 in the Galmont Hotel & Spa, Galway.   The awards are the only platform of its kind in Ireland, for young designers to showcase their work and get the recognition they truly deserve.    It also gives the designers visibility to a panel of fashion design experts.   

The Fashion Show commenced with the Student Designer of the Year section featuring lots of wonderful designers including overall winner of the category Niamh Flynn, Naoise Jo Farrell, Niamh Porter, Anna O'Doherty, Bidya Zeese, Amelia Perry, Amy Devlin, Alanna Richardson, Matthew Tanner, Sarah Jayne Ridge, Louise Marchand, Fenny Mehta, Helen Murray, Ciara Masterson, Amy Dinneen, Tara Woulfe, Natallia Huchek, Eleanor Daly, Nuala McCarthy, page and Nuala McCarthy.

Finalists in the Fashion Designer Category were up next and included creations from Caterina Coyne, Dolly Delinquent, Sarah Murphy (category winner and overall winner on the night), David O'Malley, Sara O'Neill and Ros Duke. 

Each of the designers brought their own unique style to the catwalk from the beautiful cashmere knitwear design of Ros Duke to the one of a kind creations from David O'Malley.  The overall winner of this section was Sarah Murphy who in the past has received the highest Fashion Design Degree ever awarded by Griffith College.  Each of her pieces is hand knit and hand loomed and she mixes antique fabrics from the Middle East with heritage Aran stitches.  A truly deserving winner. 

Overall winner of the Accessory Design Category Niamh Daniels

The next category was for Accessory Design which featured work from Claudia Taheny, Niamh Daniels (overall winner of this section), Rita White and The Tweed Project.   Niamh Daniels was a very popular local winner and she takes inspiration from the ever changing landscape of the West of Ireland for her designs.   

The four finalists in the Millinery Designer category were modeled beautifully on the night and included pieces from Wendy Louise Designs, Freya Ann Oatway, Leonora Ferguson and Michelle Kearns.  Winner on the night in this category was Leonora Ferguson. 

Up next were the four finalists in the Jewelry Design category.   They each showcased their exquisite unique design to the judges.   She Vibes, a personal favourite brand of mine and one I wore on the night, is the creation of Karolina Sexton who creates unique African inspired necklaces full of colour and texture. The other finalists were Juvi, Helena Malone and Scribble and Stone.   Helena Malone picked up the category award this year. 

Before the finalists were announced we were treated to a delightful showcase of Irish fashion in the "Ones to Watch" section.   Here we got to see designs from Denise Thomas, Pearl Reddington, Barbara Hewson and Amie Egan.  The contemporary Irish knitwear pieces from Peal Reddington caught my eye! 

Guest designers showcasing on the night also included Deidre Duffy and Katie O'Riordain with their outstanding designs. 

Another fantastic night came to an end and all that is left to say is well done to the sponsors and organisers from Galway Now and Goldenegg Productions for making it the huge success it was.  

Blog review by Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Blogger and Founder of IrishHealthhour.