The Northern Threads exhibition at Titanic Belfast, which opens this weekend, showcases the work of four internationally recognised Northern Irish fashion designers, alongside Ulster’s rich textile heritage. Displayed in the spacious Andrews Gallery overlooking the Harland & Wolff shipyard, it is the first fashion exhibition at the famous museum which attracted almost one million visitors last year, making it the most visited attraction in Northern Ireland.
The four designers whose inspiration is rooted locally are Sara O’Neill of Éadach, who uses fashion as a vehicle for storytelling; Gráinne Maher, who originally trained in music, but, inspired by Philip Treacy, became a successful and innovative milliner; Amy Anderson of Kindred, who is reimagining linen for a modern wardrobe; and Hope Macauley, whose sculptural, needle-free woollen knits reflect the connection between tradition and reinvention.
“We have this amazing space and we wanted to open it up and showcase the innovation and creativity that we have here in Northern Ireland, and celebrate textiles from the early 1900s to the present day. After all, the Titanic started in Linenopolis,” says Judith Owens, chief executive of Titanic parent company TBL International, pointing to bunches of flax when we meet at the gallery.
Threaded through the exhibition is information on Northern Ireland’s textile past and materials like linen, wool, leather and silk that continue to inspire today’s designers.
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The gallery hosts exhibitions every summer; last year’s was on Lucian Freud (in association with the V & A) that included the famous portrait of Irish construction magnate Pat Doherty, owner of TBL, who sat for 600 hours for a series of paintings and sketches by the celebrated artist.
“Some people can feel that art is not for them, but fashion is so accessible and people are not afraid of it,” says Owens, acknowledging fashion’s popularity as a visitor attraction. “This is how large organisations like us can collaborate with small businesses with big ideas so we can work together to get a bigger reach. Titanic Belfast is about place and people, and we can support the wider community by showing that there is so much inspiration in fashion coming out of Northern Ireland at the moment.”
The craftsmanship of the designers makes its own statement. “What I love about them is how different they are, yet all of them say that they are inspired by their background and Northern Ireland,” says the uber stylish Owens. From Hollywood, Co Down, she has a long and distinguished career in events management and entertainment, and has always been interested in fashion.
Along with the main display of their clothes, each designer has been assigned their own “pod” showing their work, mood boards and materials with supporting videos “so you get a sense of their character and inspiration”, Owens explains. A separate immersive section highlights the designers on film discussing their background and work.
Of interest too is a textile project called ThreadLab by Dean Liggett and Gráinne Taylor, fashion lecturers at the Ulster University, on whether AI and modern technology can compete with the hand, pitting cutting edge software against centuries old tailoring techniques. They concluded that digital tools could simulate the look of a garment, “but not the intuition of the hand. Digital innovation can make fashion more sustainable and efficient, but the ‘magic’ remains rooted in the human touch. So the future of our textile story lies in honouring our irreplaceable heritage while embracing the tools of tomorrow,” they say.
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This wonderful initiative in Belfast shows fashion’s power to attract attention, how deeply it is connected to place and how it feeds into art and design, continually demanding creative input of every kind. This year, with Ireland hosting the EU presidency, would be a terrific opportunity to highlight southern threads and the creativity of Irish fashion and textile design, but so far that opportunity to showcase our best has not been taken up.
Titanic Belfast Curates ... Northern Threads runs until September 30th. Entry free. titanicbelfast.com
