Fashion and advertising may seem like natural cohorts, but they were firmly split on Thursday night as the fashion pack opted for Vicar Street, where the annual Smirnoff Fashion Awards were being held, while the media set headed to receive their laurels at the Burlington Hotel. First stop, Vicar Street, and the sight of a woman disguised as a large purple butterfly hovering outside the door was almost enough to send On The Town cowering back into the taxi. Still, we persevered and were ushered inside, where jugs of Blue Lagoon and the ubiquitous Sea Breeze cocktails awaited.
A grand total of 18 students entered this year's awards, and all three prizes went to students from the Limerick College of Art and Design. Previously known for the triumph of imagination over wearability, the awards have now encouraged a more commercial slant, overseen by the well-respected panel of judges including designers John Rocha, and Marc O'Neill, commentator Barbara McMahon and last year's winner, Michelle Molloy.
Eddie Shanahan from Arnotts, also on the panel, highlighted the need for students to blend their creative skills with a real attempt to make the designs saleable. A medley of fashionable types were out in all their sartorial glory for the evening, which has been a highlight on the social calendar for a number of years. Among the established designers there were Liz Quin and Carolyn Donnelly of Quin & Donnelly, Shelly Corkery from the Design Centre, Richard Lewis, Ciaran Sweeney and Mary Gregory.
Pop group Dov were there prior to their massive concert on Sunday night when they're due to support Boyzone at the RDS to a crowd of 50,000. Graham Cruise from the band seemed pretty relaxed, mind you, as he casually reminisced about his over the top choreography for a previous Smirnoff show.
In one of the most sophisticated and seamless shows yet, students were faced with tough competition, but a well-deserved first place went to Aoife Byrne, while Liam Grier and Fionnuala O'Herlihy took second and third respectively.
Over at the Burlington, comedian Graham Norton presented the annual Institute of Creative Advertising and Design Awards to Ireland's advertising supremos. A swelling crowd of over 600 gathered for the evening and among those who went home with bronze and silver medals were Image Now for its website in the interactive media category and O'Connor O'Sullivan in the television/cinema category for its ads for TnaG.