Fashion Special: The Rising Stars In Irish Fashion

1. Black & Beech

Designer and founder of Black & Beech, Stacey Grant-Canham, is originally from Limerick but has called Cardiff home since 2011. After studying in the Limerick School of Art and Design, followed by an MA in Fashion at Kingston University in the UK, she founded the independent lifestyle brand Black & Beech. It specialises in jewellery, clothes, gifts and accessories that all come with a healthy dose of wit, thoughtfulness, feminism. The line boasts t-shirts and vest tops emblazoned with ‘Deeds Not Words’; gorgeous silver and gold necklaces with slogans like ‘Nevertheless She Persisted’; and mother-friendly accessories like silicone jewellery, specifically designed to be safe to wear around young and teething babies. Stacey’s personality, her experiences of motherhood, and her passionate commitment to intersectional feminism inform all of her designs. “In 2017 with Brexit, Trump and the growing conversation around Repeal, new motherhood found me more and more politicised,” she explains. “Enter my designs featuring the slogan ‘A Mother’s Place Is In The Resistance’. I made the decision to donate to Abortion Support Network through sales of these items, and it meant I was no longer talking about motherhood on my social accounts – but difficult issues like abortion and women’s rights. This evolution really brought me huge joy, as I feel the brand is very much ‘me’ and my multi-faceted self. The response to that has been incredible.” And Stacey isn’t just raising awareness with her designs – she also donates a percentage of Black & Beech’s profits to causes and charities that she supports. “Our long time charity we support is Abortion Support Network,” she notes. “We give £5 from every t-shirt or sweater sold from the Resistance Mama range to them, and will continue to do until they no longer need to exist.” Stacey’s feminist philosophy also extends to how her products are made. “We use all organic cotton and ethically supplied garments for this reason too,” she reveals. “It costs more, but it would be so wrong to have feminist messaging without considering all the women in the supply chain who made those products.”

For more on Black & Beech’s designs, see blackandbeech.com and check out their social media under @blackandbeech.

2. Fintan Mulholland

Fashion designer Fintan Mulholland hails from Co. Monaghan, has a studio in Belfast, and from what we can tell, is set to become an international superstar. His BA collection sold out, he has already won five awards for his work, and claimed a Paul Smith scholarship to study design in Tokyo. Mulholland says that his passion for design started to emerge in his early teens, when he began experimenting with fashion. Music became a huge influence on his style. “Thinking about the beats, lyrics and narratives with songs, I would dream up shapes and clothes in my head, how they move with the beats – I think music really aids the early stages of design.” While yarn and knit are often dismissed as dated, Mulholland’s stunning work shows the versatility and modernity of his chosen media. “My approach to fashion through the craft of knit is to build an understanding of the yarn through experimentation and sampling,” he notes. “I want to see the potential of each object from the yarn itself. I aim to get a full understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the equipment I use, and then use this to my advantage by pushing these limits to create innovative garments. This then allows me to plan and execute my silhouette in materials that lend themselves to the garment both sensually and visually.” Mulholland’s latest collection was inspired by his travels in Japan. Ever a great appreciator of all kinds of art, he was drawn to prehistoric Japanese sculptures that feature sharp symmetry and humanoid features. “The figures show various kinds of body distortion,” he explains. “There are exaggerated limbs or sexual organs, while geometric forms tend to shift from symmetry to asymmetry. Often the geometric pattern becomes the in-filling for naturalistic design. Seeing links in the sculptures from my previous work in the lines and curves made me want to use some aspects for their mystery and shape.”

For more information and to buy some beautiful pieces, see fintanmulholland.com.

3. Aisling Duffy

Multi-disciplinary artist and fashion designer Aisling Duffy grew up in Dublin, and loved art from the time she could grasp a crayon. Her unique style and desire to create one-off, unusual pieces led her to study at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, where she specialised in printed textiles. She then went on to study at the Edinburgh College of Art, specialising in mixed media textiles. Duffy has a penchant for bold and arresting patterns that blend fun, whimsical colour choices and classic elements, to create prints that are eye-catching with obvious artistic influences. “For me it is all about trying and testing different types of materials, transparent mixed with heavy, shiny mixed with matte, etc.” Duffy explains. “I tend to design pieces that are oversized or are one size fits all. For me, pattern and texture are most important, but having just done a pattern cutting course and learning all about shape and form, this may change!” Duffy gets her inspiration from a wide range of sources, but says that the themes of identity, environment, personal development and history run throughout her work. Her recent collection combines these motifs by exploring Irish identity. “I left Ireland seven years ago,” she says, “and I am always drawn to the sense of living abroad, but still feeling very Irish. The collection will explore these theses through artefact, native animals, plants, text and language.” All of Duffy’s work is produced sustainably, and she only works with fabrics that don’t involve any animal cruelty in their production. She accepts commissions – so if you want a lovingly crafted and truly original piece, get in touch!

Find her designs at aislingduffy.co.uk; her Instagram aislingduffydesigns; or her Twitter @aisling_duffy.