Gardaí are investigating the hijacking of a car containing dresses made by some of the Irish and international fashion industry's best-known designers.
The dresses and car were stolen from outside the south Dublin home of former model Mary Quigley as she was returning from a charity fashion show on Tuesday night.
Ms Quigley had loaded her car with a number of garments made by designers Paul Costelloe, Ib Jorgensen and Richard Lewis, after the charity fashion show at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Powerscourt, Co Wicklow.
She drove to her house on Torquay Road, Foxrock, after the show, but when she got out of the car to open the gates to her driveway, two men appeared, jumped into her car and drove off.
"My car is gone and all the garments are gone," she said yesterday. "Two hoodies appeared out of nowhere. I screamed and my husband came out to me. They jumped the car forward as if they were telling me 'don't come near us'. They backed right out, straight onto the road, with my car and all the garments, at 100 miles an hour."
Ms Quigley said the seven antique garments by Ib Jorgensen have no monetary value but are significant pieces that were due to go on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin. The car also contained 57 garments by Paul Costelloe and six by Richard Lewis.
"I'm very shaken but psychologically very strong because I would love to get these garments back," Ms Quigley said.
She was unsure if the crime was opportunistic or if she had been followed home as part of a targeted, well-planned robbery.
The matter is being investigated by gardaí in Cabinteely. They can be contacted at 01-666 5400.
