DFF: Dublin’s false fashion

By Pauline Volvert

When we hit up the website for the Dublin Festival of Fashion (1 to 3 October), it led us to expect a completely crazy event; one that combined vintage and classical, burlesque and arty, casual and fantasy. And yet, there was nothing like that.

The fashion designers under the spotlight were Irish but the fashion which was shown the entire weekend was international and made the event less interesting than we originally hoped. However, the online program would be attractive to fashionistas and gave a round-up of impressive catwalk shows on the two most important shopping streets of the capital.

Style, make-up and hair tutorials also took place and in St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre there was an interesting exhibition about the traditional Japanese costume, the kimono.

The exhibited clothes were the trends of this season which we’ve seen a hundred times before (slim camel pants and sequined dresses for example). The organisers played safe, and nothing seemed natural. Assets’s models paraded in front of people like the professionals they are, but a bit more fantasy wouldn’t have been too much.

According to Dubliners themselves, the city’s fashion is a mix of eclectic, fun, cheap and chic, diverse, experimental, casual and rock and roll. That’s what we wish we saw this weekend and not those false Parisian women without flaws or fun. The target customer ranged from little girls to grannies, but most of the clothes matched to one social class and one age group (30- 40 years old).

What we will remember about this weekend is not the fashion that was shown but the fashion that could have been shown. Dublin Fashion Week, we are waiting for you, hoping you will bring us what missed us so much this weekend: a touch of magic.

Interview: Derek Daniel, boss of Assets Model Agency

• What’s your job in this event?

I produce and coordinate the entire event with all the fashion shows.

• Is that an important event for your company?

Not really. It’s kind of standard because we do hundreds of them but it’s always good to be under the spotlight in Dublin.

• You’re not promoting Irish fashion only but mostly international fashion. Why?

Because our customers are stores like Arnotts and Brown Thomas and they sell many international brands.

• So, is Irish fashion not very well known?

In Ireland surely not but in the rest of the world, I’d say it’s getting better.

• Who are the customers you’re planning to entice?

The customers we want to approach are the women and the men from 20 to 65.