Couture show brought together French, Irish and Franco-Irish designers
Last weekend I was off to Limerick for a mini break to celebrate Rob’s birthday but also to attend a very special fashion show.
The inaugural Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Limerick was an amazing designer show orchestrated by the Holman-Lee Agency with the support of the Limerick City & County Council and the French Embassy in Ireland bringing together over 30 French and Irish designers and fashion brands around the themes of diversity and sustainability.
The show is named after Lady Honora Burke, Patrick Sarsfield’s wife, whose style and charisma made a big impression on the royal court of Saint-Germain, in France, where the couple went into exile after the Flight of the Wild Geese in 1691.
It was the 1st couture show in Ireland bringing together some of the most talented French, Irish and Franco-Irish designers advocating for a sustainable fashion industry! The cathedral was the perfect backdrop for this stunning show and such fantastic work by Asta Lee and Celia Holman Lee, models by Holman Lee Agency, hair by Hugh Campbell Hair Group, Make-up by The Beauty Atelier, festival organiser Löic Guyon from French Consulate Office in Limerick on producing this top class show.
There was such an amazing variety of looks at the show from sweeping ballgowns, relaxed yet chic daywear and beautiful headpieces it was just amazing to see so much design talent on display.
One of my favourite pieces was a long, black embellished dress from French designer Laura Serafino. Simple in silhouette and elegant in design it’s easy to see why Laura is designing for Chanel in Paris.
The dress was also styled perfectly with simple, pulled back hair and some drop earrings. I also really enjoyed the work of Limerick based fashion designer Stephen Bowman Lynch which used quite and unexpected print and fabric to create a dramatic gown. I loved the folds and pleats he used to create modern structure on this floral piece.
There was also a total standout piece from Dublin based designer Niall Tyrrell which I adored and was a red lace bodysuit combined with a red gown that was cinched in at the waist to perfection. It would certainly bring the drama to any occasion. This is just a small snippet of the amazing creativity on show as there were so many pieces that stood out to me, but we would be here all day if I mentioned them all.
Now what does one wear to such a show when you know everyone will be bringing their A-game in terms of style? Well, I of course deliberated on this for days. Would I go with a failsafe for me which is a printed pants suit or would I stick with a dress? I actually got a very simple silky dress that my mother brought back from holidays a couple of years back that I had yet to wear.
The dress was a really striking g shade of green and I thought some gold accessories would jazz it up. I also felt it would be the perfect base for a really dramatic head piece so I rented a gold piece from Siobhan Daly Designs. It was a gold headband with a series of gold leather stars on either side of the head.
Perfectly dramatic but so light and easy to wear. I felt like I should be walking the runway myself with such a gorgeous piece on my head! Congratulations to all on such a wonderful show.