She's a medical doctor who designs clothes that are made in Ireland. Deirdre McQuillanmeets Sheila Considine
SHEILA CONSIDINE'S husband Peter Mulholland, an anthropologist, describes his wife as an OCPC person - an obsessive-compulsive pattern-cutter. This modest, hardworking Irish designer who makes quiet, understated clothes and who believes in the primary importance of the pattern in any design is unique in many respects. Completely self-taught, she is a mother of a young son, has a fashion design studio in Dún Laoghaire, lives over the shop, and works at weekends as a doctor in a Dublin hospital. Her medical work has helped support her real obsession - making clothes.
Passionate about fabric and fashion design from childhood, this multi-tasker is a perfectionist about detail and, although her collections are small, they are made from quality materials and carefully structured to flatter Irish figures. "The problem with a lot of mass-produced clothes on the high street is that they're made for perfect-figure models and mannequins, not real people," she says.
A summer jacket from her collection, for example, has been fashioned from linen with a high thread count, is cut with attention to the shape of the body with strategic pin tucks and seaming, the sleeves are three-quarter length, the buttons well-chosen and the fabric tumble-dried for extra softness and luxuriance.
A wrap dress in a bold Liberty print in fine jersey has been specifically made so that it doesn't gape on the wearer, a common problem with wrap dresses. "People are really surprised when they try this on. I think the most important things are fastidiousness and attention to detail," says Considine.
Her current collection is typical of her minimalist style and classic mix of plain linens from Irish companies, such as Ulster Weavers, John England and Emblem Weavers, and patterned fabrics, the latter mostly Liberty jersey and cotton prints with the occasional designer finds from Paris.
Considine's signature coat-dress design has been perfected to the point that it can work in any fabric, while a trouser shape with flat inset pockets is deliberately made so that it sits on the waist without a full waistband for extra versatility to suit different figures. What's really selling at the moment are summery black-and-white polka-dot shirts and jackets that can be worn to great effect with black-and-white pinstripe trousers and a shot of red somewhere, for example.
"My limitation is getting fabric," she says. "If I won the Lotto tomorrow, I would spend it all on materials." Hesitant to take risks, she says that exhibition costs are huge - to show in Pure (a major trade show in the UK) costs €5,000 for each season, a prohibitive cost for a small designer. "But driving around Ireland [to sell] is just as good and I want to be in control of what I do. I own a shop and if my collections really take off, I will continue to manufacture in Ireland."
Prices are reasonable too ranging from about €125 to €185 for trousers, €175 to €285 for dresses and a small selection of her handmade accessories such as glass-and-enamel or colourful felted-wool necklaces are from €55 to €75.
Sheila Considine is at 5 Georges Street, Lower Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, 01-2311925; SheilaConsidine.com
Model: Nikki Bonass
Photography: Norabeth Hogan and Pamela O'Brien of www.thisisventure.ie