Laura Kinsella Interview

Kinsella’s love of fashion was born out of her love for design; it was only when she went to study graphic visual communications that she realised her desire for creative expression was more accurately expressed in wearable, rather than printable, art.
Her exquisite and abstract hats, headpieces and accessories are both modern and timeless, as contemporary techniques scream innovation while their elegance transcends trend.
Kinsella honed her skills while travelling around the globe, working with Alejandra Quesada in Mexico City, MaterialbyProduct in Melbourne and Philip Treacy, London. The designer launched her first bespoke range in 2013 and her career has been riding a wave of success ever since. Kinsella won the KFW Fashion Industry Awards with Image Magazine, as Breakthrough Designer Of The Year 2014, and KFW Milliner Of The Year in 2015. She was also commissioned to make a piece for Ireland’s entry into International Fashion Showcase at London Fashion Week 2015, and collaborated with designer Danielle Romeril for two collections – spring/summer 2014 and 2015.
Kinsella reveals that she loves creating something unexpected, from silhouettes to fabrics.
“I enjoy creating the textiles and I really enjoy pushing those textiles into a place they shouldn’t be. For example my spring/ summer 2016 collection is knit and crochet but stiffened and warped into shapes that they normally aren’t found in.”
She also reveals that she finds inspiration in unexpected places and ideas, and her knit and crochet pieces were “inspired by the idea of a second skin and naturally occurring geometry. There are also references to Anthony Gormley’s idea of the body.”
The milliner describes her designer idols as “mostly old school”, citing Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci as catnip “for the Gothic lover in me!” For when she’s seeking some artful inspiration, she looks to Txell Miras or Hussein Chalayan, while for millinery “it has to be Maiko Takeda.”
Laura Kinsella is currently working with various stockists on exciting collaborations that will be revealed in the near future, but “in the meantime you can get any bespoke piece or otherwise directly from me in my studio in Portobello in Dublin. Also there will be a Black Friday sample sale revealed shortly too!” Gorgeous designs and a sale? Talk about a dream combination.

See laurakinsella.com for more information and updates.