Fashion

Looking for Irish-designed products? Check out Optica’s Atelier

StyleFile: Organic denim, tartan trends, and a Griffith graduate’s showcase in London

Naoise Jo Farrell with her model at her catwalk show in London

Deirdre McQuillan's face
Deirdre McQuillan
Tue Nov 5 2019 - 06:00

OPTIMUM THREADS

Following a sell-out pop up in Optica earlier this year, designer Alanagh Clegg is back again with her winter collection in the shop’s Atelier space, which features only Irish-designed products.

Clegg’s lovely clothes on her Four Threads label, handmade using sustainable fabrics such as Irish linen and khadi cotton from India, where she has spent a lot of time, have been steadily establishing a reputation both in Ireland and abroad. On a recent trip to Lille with Maison du Monde, Four Threads excited buyers from Paris boutiques such as L’Eclaireur and L’Excepcion and her new pop up will display her full winter collection, plus some exclusive pieces.

Optica’s space, like everything else in this beautiful shop, a hidden delight in the city centre, showcases items from bespoke furniture to Joe Hogan baskets and Dorothy Cross prints.

The pop up runs over the last two weekends of November, and the first weekend of December: November 21st-23rd; November 28th-30th; and December 5th-7th. four-threads.com

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An outfit from Alanagh Clegg's Four Threads winter collection at Optica

A GRIFFITH STAR

Jane Leavy, course director of fashion at Griffith College, Dublin has every reason this year to be proud of one of her star graduates of 2018. Naoise Jo Farrell who received a first in the BA (Hons) Fashion Design last year has gone from strength to strength with her designs showcased on the catwalk at the recent London Fashion Week’s Fashion’s Finest SS20. After her graduation, she worked in Primark and Avoca and her work has also appeared in Vulkan magazine. Fashion’s Finest shines a spotlight on emerging talent from the UK and abroad, and Farrell’s collection called Mine Heritage was inspired by her childhood memories of her grandfather’s storytelling from his time working in the Manchester coal mines. To this end, the collection incorporated a mixture of industrial mining clothing with Celtic motifs drawn from her own Irish heritage.

SPORTY CASUAL

Theo & George’s sporty casual clothing (called after founder Kate O Riordan’s grandfathers) is not just about softness but about sustainability, simplicity and being environmentally friendly. In a phrase: slow fashion. “We believe in making luxurious, sustainable essentials designed to be timeless,” another way of saying clothing which can be used again and again, season after season like t-shirts, cashmere sweaters and other wardrobe staples.

They have just launched their new range of denim, which is ethically made, they say, using 98 per cent organic cotton and 2 per cent elastane sourced from Italian producers whose crops have been certified as being produced to Organic Cotton Standards. Each pair of jeans is made by a family-owned and operated factory, which ensures transparency over the manufacturing process. Mid-rise, slim-fit and skinny-cut designs in two classic washes, a light and dark navy, can be purchased online for €249 a pair. theoandgeorge.com

Red check long-sleeve bustier jacket €60 from River Island

CHECK IT OUT

Checks and tartans are quite a trend this winter and River Island has a good selection ranging from jackets like this bustier style in red plaid with long sleeves for €60, along with a brown check button-front mini skirt for €43, a long puff-sleeved blazer for €75 and flared red check trousers for €55.

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