A YOUNG Limerick woman has designs on being a key player in the Irish fashion industry.
And, having graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD), Aoife McNamara from Mungret was bitten by the fashion bug when she interned for world-famous designer Marc Jacobs in New York for a year.
She has subsequently dressed social media star Suzanne Jackson and Limerick’s own style icon Celia Holman Lee.
Her stint in New York inspired Aoife’s final collection, which draws on “a reflection of Ireland” entitled “Anail” which means “breathe” in Irish. The six pieces are an homage to Annie Moore, the first Irish immigrant to enter the US. Aoife drew inspiration from this feminist figure who faced her fears when she embarked on that journey.
“I spent my first days in New York taking in such a huge, vast city where everything was new to me, and thinking about all the Irish immigrants like Annie Moore who made their way there years ago during the famine. They must have felt the same way as me- awestruck, vulnerable but eager to learn and work.
“Before I started working on Anail, I paid a visit to Ellis Island and I was taken in by the stories I heard about all these Irish people who went to the “New World” many years before me, mesmerized by the possibility of a new life. I imagined these impoverished, eager and strong women arriving to Ellis Island when I designed the pieces.”
Aoife focused on “reconstructing tradition”, choosing to keep the Irish heritage alive and at the heart of each fabric choice by using materials such as wool, tweed, and woven yarns, so the outcome is very Celtic peasant with a romantic feel with details such as billowing sleeves and fitted corsetry.
“I was inspired by the development of a 3D weaving technique applied with willow and reeds. Creating a shape and volume in relation to restricting the body combined with a modern element of tailoring,” she explained.
Her fabrics were sponsored by McNutt of Donegal, a traditional woollen and fabric mill.
Aoife has introduced Victorian silhouettes into the pieces with the juxtaposition of dry wool, corduroy, tweeds and reeds contrasting with the highly decorative damask and silks in certain pieces.
“I feel the result of the collection highlights the rawness of poverty versus the vibrant dream of starting a new life in America for this immigrant whose story I heard as a tourist on Ellis Island.”
Aoife has high hopes of conquering the fashion industry after completing the four-year course at LSAD. Empowering women is the message she wants to give with her designs, citing Amal Clooney as her dream client.
See www.aoifemcnamara.com for more information.
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