Young Creatives: Alison Conneely (Designer)

Fashion designer Alison Conneely studied fashion design and pattern cutting in Dublin and draping in St.Martins in London and now lectures in Fashion Design in DID. She won the Future Makers Award for her collection ‘Bella’s Faul’ which was a collection based on memory, her grandmother and her homeland Faul. In 2016 she was chosen as design representative for the National Museum of Ireland under the 1916 Centenary Commemorations.

Conneely is greatly inspired by the Irish landscape, as she grew up on the Wild Atlantic Way in Connemara, and by women throughout Irish history, stretching back thousands of years, “to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught, to turn of the century Celtic Revival ambassadors- Maude Gonne, Lady Gregory, and Lilly & Lolly Yeats, WB’s overshadowed sisters. The old, the new, the brave and understated, I make for the heroines of today.” History and place always play a huge role in Conneely’s design process, and her latest capsule collection was inspired by a visit to the UNESCO world heritage site – The Skelligs, located off the Irish coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The contemporary structured form of Conneely’s pieces are interspersed with subtle textured panels, presenting glimpses of mystery, depth and layers, playing with her beloved themes of time and place by presenting us with prisms of possibilities.