New 18th century themed collection from Colton McGuirk

For our student issue, there’s no better time to celebrate one of Ireland’s most exciting design graduates. NCAD graduate Colton McGuirk is wowing fashion lovers with his striking style, and has already become a designer to watch. McGuirk’s path to design was fuelled by a combination of exploration and education – and an innate talent.  “As a kid I always loved art and design,” he reflects. “I was fascinated with how things were made and transforming something 2D into 3D. I was practically obsessed with Lego and – as clichéd as it sounds – making Barbie dresses! It was in my early teens when I began to explore my love for fashion. I began doing dress making courses at the age of 15, which led me into an internship at a fashion and sewing school called WPMD.

“There I learned the basics and a couple of years later I was teaching while working on my portfolio for college. I went to Sallynoggin College of Further Education and bypassed the first year, heading straight into my final year. While working on a six-look collection I worked on my NCAD portfolio.”  It was McGuirk’s final year that really allowed him to hone his aesthetic.  “It was such a challenging year, physically and mentally,” he acknowledges. “But it really sculpted me and I shocked myself with my degree collection. It was different to any other collection I had produced before. It was more sentimental and special, and technically I invested a lot of time in the deconstruction and reconstruction of corsetry and hand embellishments.”  But fabric isn’t the only thing that McGuirk is deconstructing. McGuirk is a drag performer, and enjoys what the art form allows him to explore in terms of gender and expression.   “I look at drag as a creative and artistic platform of expression – a lot like fashion design for me,” he says. “You start with an idea and you basically invest so much into it until it becomes real and physical. Drag for me is a genderless platform. I don’t believe it’s a man in a wig or a woman in a wig trying to be the other/same sex. Drag is whatever you want to be or whatever you don’t want to be, and that’s the beauty of it. For my drag I love my make-up, my wigs, my long claw nails, and I do take a lot of inspiration from female characteristics.” McGuirk’s final year collection in NCAD investigated these themes of drag and queer culture.

“My collection is inspired by my thesis, entitled Gender And Sexual Fluidity Through The Eccentricity Of Eighteenth Century Dress,” he explains. “I studied the fashion rules and garment restrictions from the 18th century and how it led to a sub queer trend being formed, called Macaroni. It sparked effeminate mannerisms that allowed homosexual men embrace themselves openly. It was this trend that led homosexuals to bend the fashion rules and create drag characters inspired by the strict fashion rules of the French courts.   “I was really inspired by the efforts of self-expression contrasted with the body-restricted garments in conjunction with today’s non-binary trends. I also used pink, as it was associated with boys up until the 20th century. It then became a staple for femininity. The title of the collection stems from this – ‘BOYS WHO DON’T WEAR PINK’ is a play on words for the inspiration of the collection.”

Colton McGuirk has bespoke work stocked at Marion Cuddy’s Irish Designer Emporium, and currently works on commission pieces in his Dublin studio. His email for enquiries is [email protected] and you can also find him on Facebook and Instagram.

LOOKBOOK CREDITS: Photographer: Aron Cahil Models: Damsel DeVil (Colton McGuirk) & Oisin O Dalaigh Assistant Stylists: Jade Walsh, Leigh Walsh Wig Stylist & MUA: Colton McGuirk