Clothes lines

Compiled by DEIRDRE McQUILLAN

Talented bunch

So much Irish design talent is flourishing in London that a new online magazine, Argon, is devoted to their work in clothing, jewellery and illustration. Its first issue, "Irish Creativity", features the work of Rachel Thomas, the London-based Irish set designer who has worked with Vogue, Hermès and Mulberry, and with music and fashion designers. There are features on jeweller Merle O'Grady, artists Liam O'Callaghan and Daniel Frost, while Stephen Fanning, frontman with Last Tycoons, gives the low-down on living in Berlin. Jamie Wood's new gallery Whisper is profiled – he's Ronnie's son – and there are some great fashion features by photographer Aidan O'Neill including one called Lux. Check out argonmagazine.com

Show time

This was the scene at the end of a much-lauded fashion show, Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo, last Sunday evening in the RDS, directed by Sonia Reynolds.

“We trawled the country and found treasures,” said Reynolds afterwards, referring to the research that went into the show styled by Catherine Condell. It made for a fresh, freewheeling assembly of clothes and accessories drawn from more than 90 Irish companies, giving a whole new image to Irish fashion. This was evident in the skilful mix of layers and textures, a crios belted over a tweed jacket, a gold knit apron flashing under a cutaway jacket or an emerald green cable knit shrugged over a long herringbone coat. Showcase looks set to be an annual fixture.

Charity blitz sale

A charity blitz sale running today and next weekend, February 4th and 5th, promises bargains from €20 up to €150.

Marion Cuddy in Powerscourt is selling off pieces from knitwear designers such as like Lisa Shawgi, Heather Finn, Áine McDonnell and Gertrude Sampson, as well as items from design duo Kate Ava and milliner Suzie Mahony. The shop, which started as a pop-up but has become a more permanent retail space on the first floor, has also just taken delivery of Tyrell Brennan’s new special-occasion wear range, ideal for mother of the bride/groom or the races, but not included in the sale.

A percentage of profits from the sale will go to Barnardos.

Taylor made

Two blockbuster brooches which belonged to Elizabeth Taylor made a brief appearance in Dublin recently, the proud purchase by Boodles MD Nicholas Wainwright at the highly publicised jewellery sale in New York. The pair, identical in form and made in the 1970s, were designed by the star herself, her signature etched on the back. One features large black Tahitian pearls, amethysts and brilliant-cut diamonds mounted in l8ct gold, while the other

has four lustrous South Sea pearls in the same setting with citrines and diamonds. A well-travelled gemmologist, Wainwright’s most recent star purchase was a 10-carat vivid yellow flawless diamond bought in Hong Kong at a Sotheby’s auction that Boodles remodelled and sold. “It’s not just enough to have a great stone, it has to be set right,” he says. But he’s not tinkering with the Taylor brooches just yet. “When we run out of money, we might sell them,” he smiles.

Bags of style

Louise O’Leary, who started making bags from cotton, silk and linen in 2004, selling them in Cow’s Lane market, has now upped the ante with more sophisticated Italian-made leather collections. One of her more striking items is a clutch with a brass handle based on an antler specially cast for her in Florence. O’Leary, who lives in west Wicklow “with a large collection of animals”, got the idea when presented with a set of antlers by a friend. Now she can hardly keep up with demand for her colourful satchels and clutches with their daring brass embellishments – one shop in Edinburgh took a delivery on November 18th and has reordered three times since. O’Leary will be showing the eight styles in her autumn/winter collection at Scoop in the Saatchi Gallery in London next month and is currently heading to New York. Her bags are priced from ¤340 for the clutch up to €440 for a pink leather satchel, and can be purchased at Bow in Powerscourt or online at louloubellebags.com