All hail Kinsale

Charlotte & Jane is an Irish label doing things differently – from non-professional models to unusual locations and cool, quirky dresses, writes DEIRDRE MCQUILLAN

YOU HAVE TO hand it to Charlotte Cargin and Jane Skovgaard, the design team in Kinsale behind the label Charlotte & Jane, whose quirky individualism and approach to fashion has made their jolly dresses such an Irish success story. One of their biggest fans is rockabilly singer Imelda May, who credits them on the cover of her latest album, Mayhem, with her outfit – and, long before Mad Men hit the charts, the pair were revisiting the 1950s in a fun and playful way that disguised serious attention to detail. Their latest line-up for spring/summer has all their signature shapes and finishing touches: trims, piping, bows and buttons in fruity colours such as coral, tangerine, pistachio and lime. As usual, they prefer to use real people, usually their interesting friends, to model; in this case, Sarah Browne, an origami expert who makes necklaces and earrings, and the actress George Hanover, who is part of a comedy group in Cork called Snatch. “We love their faces and prefer them to [professional] models,” says Charlotte Cargin. “We like our photos to look uncontrived and natural.”

The locations are always rather special too. In this case, a friend’s ancestral home in Tipperary, which has been in the same family for the past 500 years. “We were at a party there and kept thinking it would make a great backdrop for our clothes. So we spent a morning with our dresses matching them to the colours of the wallpapers and the mood of the place. It’s a timeless house with great attention paid to every last detail and we would like to think the same about our dresses,” says Cargin.

The names of the new styles – Peggy Sue, Oriental Twist, Prim and Proper, Quirky and Quaint – speak for themselves, with one dress based on a bathing suit design from the 1950s. But these are not clothes for shrinking violets. Instead they are statement pieces that are shapely, sexy and modern, a look emphasised by the styling – which the pair do themselves. “We like the idea that these are dresses that can be styled in different ways and kept forever.”

Now they’re getting into hats, working with two Irish milliners on a hand-made collection in organza, silk or linen, which can be adapted through colour and fabric to match any of the chosen dresses. They are also, with the exception of Granny’s Bottom Drawer in Kinsale, withdrawing from Irish boutiques to sell online and at exclusive viewings once a month in different locations around the country. Orders will take a month to process and, Cargin says: “It keeps the prices down and makes our dresses more exclusive.” They do it their way.

charlotteandjane.com