One of the most distinctive trends in fashion during the past decade has been the steady displacement of hard-edged high style by low-key luxury. In this country, nobody now represents that shift of taste better than Louise Kennedy. For the season ahead, she continues her campaign to dress customers in clothes which are spoilingly comfortable and irrefutably sophisticated.
It has been a feature of this designer's work during the 1990s that her style has grown steadily more pared-back without becoming any less desirable. So, for autumn/ winter, the Kennedy collection is replete with luxurious items devoid of unnecessary fuss.
Last year, the designer defined her approach to fashion as being one of "relaxed simplicity" and this still holds true. While the tailored jacket - the piece which, more than any other, helped to make her reputation - remains a central part of every range including the present one, it tends to be offered in a gentler, deconstructed style. Professional women who have always bought from Kennedy can now choose from separates as well as suits, so that they no longer need to look as though they are wearing a uniform. Among these individual pieces are fluid fly-fronted jackets in wool crepes and jacquards which look terrifically contemporary when teamed with a pair of Kennedy's cashmere palazzo pants.
Cashmere, in fact, has come to be one of the designer's favourite fabrics of late. Naturally, it features strongly among her knitwear, where chunky rollneck sweaters provide a casual option, and more defined V-neck and turtle-neck shapes possess understated elegance. Tones here are in the soft berry spectrum, with plenty of purple and lilac shades too.
Bolder colouring is found in this season's full-length shearling wrap coats from Kennedy, offered in dramatic red, petrol blue or blonde. Alternatively, there are long-line cashmere coats trimmed in fur or, for women who want to envelop themselves in something lighter but just as luxurious, the designer can provide wraps in pashmina, silk satin and velvet.
When it comes to eveningwear, Kennedy forsakes her customary low-key approach for clothes which will make an unforgettable impact. Chief among these are her hand-beaded halter-neck dresses with plunging necklines, but there are also chiffon skirts hand-embroidered with dainty flowers. The choice of colours here runs from rich blue and pewter to ebony and winter white.
Kennedy calls her latest collection "pure indulgence", but for her many fans it is more likely to seem a fundamental necessity.
Louise Kennedy's autumn/winter collection is available from the designer's own premises at 56 Merrion Square, Dublin as well as Brown Thomas, The Design Centre, Khan, Havana, The Kilkenny Shop and Dublin Duty Free
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