Fashion Editor Polly Rogers explores Dublin Independent Fashion Week.
Becoming at Dublin Independent Fashion Week, curated by Zeda the Architect, featured three separate designers and showcases of their work, interwoven with performances. This was an experience, a show of fashion, talent and meaning. The show centered around the theme of myth, and used performer Vatican Jail as the element that tied all the pieces together. Her poetry and song strung a tangible connection between these vastly different acts.
The fashion show began long before doors even opened at the Complex - a building I could only classify as an urban gallery, a theatre and a blank space to promote and display the arts. The small square outside enabled those in their finest streetwear to pose for the paparazzi against the concrete walls and metal garage doors, on display were the audience's outfits, Irish brands and trending pieces littered the crowd. Megan McGuigan, the founder and designer of the Irish fashion brand Seeking Judy, and one of the co-founders of DIFW, could be seen weaving amongst the crowd, alongside other Irish designers styled head-to-toe in undiluted and authentic styles. An avid fashion lover's dream, this crowd was everything barring minimalistic, draped in neons and animal prints, leather and lace, boots, heels, Crocs and more. This space was the ideal setting for this show, The crowd flowed inside past a bar and into the main gallery. This brutalistic and rugged space felt ideal for the couture to fill its harsh emptiness.
This space was darkened, with lighting angled to illuminate solely the show's set. Projected-upon panels ran toward the high ceiling while aluminium sheets spanned forward lining the walkway for our models. This mirroring effect felt as a flat stretch of water upon a long sleek river. The models could be seen reflected, casting an illusion of submersion or levitation. Draped net and textiled fabric surrounded the silver. Pebbles dribbled atop, this cast visions of river scum, moss, and foliage. A bank that surrounded the water from which models emerged from. Throngs of dried wheat stalks gave a dried and barren extension to this otherwise very green and dewy space created.
The Zero Waster opened the evening with a spoken word poetry performed by Vatican Jail. Her outfit was otherworldly, a fabulous woolen woven piece that clung and draped her figure. Cobweb-like, it was opaque in places, leaving a free view of her skin which was a canvas to intricate tattoos. Her boots were brisk with spray paint of a deep blood red, brighter than the crimson of the woolen gown. The show itself featured a morbid undertone. Pieces and models had an ethereal waterlogged feel - the dancer opening the act graced the runway, like a swan or a diver engulfed in the sea, wading along the ocean floor. Hair was slicked, gelled and dripping, as though submerged. The ropes and carabiners that scattered the pieces felt somewhat nautical - a lake fisherman.
The textiles seemed raw: fleece, thick woollen felt or tweed were the fabrics seen throughout these designs. The colours progressed throughout the show, beginning with creams and beiges, then steadily darkening in colour. Brown splatters that covered some garments felt reminiscent of either rust or dried blood. Many of the clothing items also carried an apron-like feel, with the models’ demeanor offering the feeling of an abattoir, of a butcher. Playing more into this, some models had covered mouths or gags, some even had strands of hair tied beneath their chins, almost nodding toward the image of a noose. This brought layers of depth to the gothic and decaying feel that the melodramatic music emitted. As the show altered in pace of designs to incorporate more casual items such as hoodies and shirts, we see Fortune emerge upon stage and perform a musical act. Fortune was also dressed in style, with the sides of his top having seatbelt-like clips and straps, embodying a recycled and sustainable theme.
Aishling Duffy was the centrepiece in the trio of designers. A shift in dynamic, music and colour, we see a punky energy with colourful pinks and blacks, her silhouettes are baggy but feminine, with ruffles and Peter Pan collars. This design of dress contrasts the music choice of My Chemical Romance, paired with the chunky rebellious shoes and dramatic make up shows the depth of femininity, how not every element needs to be perfect, pretty and demure to be feminine - escaping the box of conformity that the label of femininity so often demands. This act touches on nostalgia - the images projected on screen are of bows, stars and glitter, with the Aishling Duffy logo and iconography flashing in and out. The models are all stunningly pretty, like dolls their make up and hair is full of curls and glitter.
Seeking Judy closed the performance with a ritualistic act, darker lighting and a moodier persona encased us as lightning was projected. The woven pieces, knotted with stitches, were elegant. Carrying on the sea-dwelling theme, this time it was more potent, as if these models were mermaids or sirens emerging from the ocean. Veils and hoods were made from these crocheted and entangled designs, some almost intestinal. During this show, as models arrived on stage they stayed there dividing it into two sections, the first being this mythical dramatic and other worldly, and next an emergence of more casual and contemporary clothing - playing into this stormy atmosphere we have models carrying umbrellas, connecting us with our everyday Irish weather. While still knitwear, we now see a shift toward sweatpants and hoodies, scarves and accessories that add a pop of colour. The umbrellas are floaty, layered fabric is like petals to this dark flower, sheltering the models from the all-too-easy-to-imagine rain.
The final closing was celebratory - all acts burst out to vibrant music, showing the true personalities and personas of the models, some shy, some bubbling, but all ready to celebrate the completion of what was previously a professional, stone-faced performance. Immediately the after-party began: the audience melted down from seats and stands, a DJ materialised and the runway transformed into a dance floor. Models still dressed in the designs began to party, taking photos with influencers and designers, the personal side of these small brands came out, and the overall message and community that Dublin Independent Fashion Week has created was clear for all to see.