“There’s a lot of femininity, soft detail and frothiness without too much fluffiness,” says Tracey Despard, head of women’s fashion at Brown Thomas, commenting on some of the latest collections in the store selected by her and her buying team from the main global players.
At the 2025 spring show in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin, they were artfully presented around a set resembling an artist’s studio, with work from fashion artist Poppy Waddilove illustrating some of the main fashion items.
After the show, on a walkabout in the store, Despard points out some of the main trends on display – the green ruched silk dresses from Victoria Beckham: “fluid and wearable”; the trousers with elasticated waists from The Row: “the fit is perfect”; white and striped shirts from Phoebe Philo: “strong shoulders but not exaggerated”; and new takes on shift dresses from Prada: “the shapes and their cap sleeves suit most women”.
Elsewhere the new black and white toile de jouy separates from Dior, frilled minis from Zimmerman, silk shirts from Tom Ford and rippling bustier 1950s-style floral dresses from Dolce & Gabbana pleased the eye (if not the purse).
There is a lot to take in from top international brands, collectively a mix of playful girlishness, with lots of bows and pastel shades contrasting with a strong dose of black in quirky tailoring: jackets splashed with silver from Erdem or offbeat suits in heavy military green canvas from Loewe.
One extraordinary dress from Australian brand Acler in pink and orange ombre petals was for all the world like a Georgia O’Keeffe flower painting realised in cloth. Another that quickened the heart was a black evening coat embroidered all over with tiny white daisies from Erdem. (Yours for €3,995).
For those who think it impossible to put yet another new variation on a trench theme, you’ll think again when viewing swing-back versions from The Row, sharper looks from McQueen and more worked offerings from Dries Van Noten.
“We like to push the boundaries of fashion at all price points,” says Despard. “And when we are looking for new brands, it is with our customers in mind – we work closely with the customer shopping team”.
From Julianstown, Co Meath, and a family with ancestral roots in Lyons, France, Despard has fashion is in her DNA. Her paternal grandmother was a dressmaker who made ball gowns for the Preston family, the original owners of Gormanston Castle. Despard’s own career started with Levis and LVMH in Brown Thomas. After a period working in fintech she returned to Brown Thomas nearly two years ago.
As she travels a lot for work, the three pieces of clothing on which she relies are black trousers, a sweater and a coat – hers being from The Row, Phoebe Philo and Celine.
“Fabulous outerwear goes over everything – over jeans or over dresses – for travelling, for meetings or for the weekend. And all you need would be loafers with wearable heels (Phoebe Philo) and a bag you love,” she says, making a sound case for such investment pieces.
Despard is proud that the store is one of the few in Europe now carrying the Phoebe Philo collection of clothes and accessories. It will also be opening The Frankie Shop, the French-American store and label famed for its blazers, coats and padded tees on Level 2 at the end of this month.
“We are a luxury destination but there has to be accessibility and attainable fashion like Rohe, with its beautiful tailoring and detail,” says Despard. “Customers must find something with which they fall in love.”
