Three up-and-coming fashion designers will see their creations come alive on the catwalk at a major awards ceremony later this month.
Letterkenny IT Fashion students Niamh Porter (Raphoe), Eimear Bradley (Cloghan) and Lauren Doyle (Buncrana) will discover their fate at the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards: Student Designer of the Year 2017 on Thursday, 30 March.
This is a highly regarded contest for fashion designers and students from fashion colleges throughout Ireland, showcasing the highest expression of creativity from the most innovative designers in Ireland. It is an opportunity to give young, up and coming designers an invaluable connection to the public.
Niamh, Eimear and Lauren were asked to design and make a contemporary dress or suit for the modern multi-tasking woman whose busy life requires a wardrobe that works through the day and beyond. Obviously they impressed the judges and are now going to be profiled with all other finalists in the GALWAYnow magazine and receive radio and television press coverage.
LYIT finalists in Irish Fashion Innovation Awards
One overall winner will be selected by the judging panel on the night of the event. The winner will be chosen by secret ballot and will be announced at the Fashion Innovation Awards ceremony in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway.
Designers will be judged on innovation, design integrity and choice of materials. Lauren Doyle, one of the finalists, outlined “I’m thrilled to see my work on the catwalk, we have had such an exciting year so far, but to see my designs come alive on the catwalk will be the highlight!”
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Fashion with Promotion (LY447) is currently only in its second year of being taught at LYIT but already they are seeing the fruits of how valuable the skills and expertise of its future graduates will be. The intention of the course is to prepare students for employment or to exist as a designer.
Since September the second year students on the course have designed for O’Neill’s Sportswear in Strabane. They visited London in January to source fabrics and broaden their perspective as designers – to understand how their work would sit with established designers. They will also be exhibiting their work as a catwalk show with ‘Trash’N Fashion’ in May 2017.
Sharon Maxwell, LYIT Fashion Lecturer, outlined, “Already our highly creative and talented students are making waves in the fashion world, nationally and internationally! Two of our students had their work shortlisted in December for ‘Threadless.com’ – Chicago’s famous t-shirt printing site.
“The BA in Fashion with Promotion degree is a unique course that addresses the skills required to succeed in today’s fashion design industry, which has drastically evolved over the last ten years. Students learn about the traditional skills of pattern cutting and garment making alongside illustration, photography, film, marketing, graphics, sourcing, social media promotion, e-commerce and the business of fashion – it’s the only course of its kind!”
