David O’Malley may only be 23, but we’re expecting great things from this talented Coolock native. A final-year Textile student at the National College of Art & Design, O’Malley began his studies in Visual Communication. However, he soon realised his work belonged more within a three-dimensional and living context than two-dimensional planes, and thus he switched to Textiles.
O’Malley began experimenting with a dark aesthetic, achieved by combining various natural and synthetic materials such as heavy leathers, snakeskin, human hair and videotape. By centring this avant garde merger of materials on the human frame, the body becomes a vessel. The results are edgy, seductive and unique, with modern design that could rival haute couture fashion houses, while still being accessible.
O’Malley has worked with Irish designer Aideen Bodkin, and from her learned the realities of being a self-employed designer working with various clients. He has also collaborated with Peter Mark on The Golden Hair project, gaining experience managing the creative energies active within the collaborative context. O’Malley says that “the Golden Hair Project also helped me discover my niche centring on unconventional material usage, and continues to represent the style I explore and evolve within my work.”
O’Malley’s current collection is entitled Tyrant, and comprises six outfits with a particular focus on headpieces and body adornment. Tyrant was the opening collection for the NCAD Graduate Fashion Show which took place on May 25 in Newman House. O’Malley’s striking collection followed a narrative based upon various sources including history, film, sexuality, paganism and the occult. Goat fur, deer antlers, beetle wings and an armadillo shell were among the materials employed.
For those of you dying to get your hands on O’Malley’s incredible designs, it seems that this ambitious lad is eager to get his work in our shops as well as on our catwalks. “Whilst my current work is situated within a more conceptual and avant garde context focusing on headpieces, as my career develops I hope to maintain my aesthetic but via a more commercial medium.”
Form an orderly cue, everyone – but behind us, we’ve got dibs.
For more information on David O’Malley’s work, see behance.net/davidanthonyomalley or email [email protected]