Forming part of London fashion week’s International Fashion Showcase – an event put on by the British Fashion Council for highlighting global new talents – In the Fold was a chance for the Irish designers to standout among the 130 others selected. Presented by Irish Design 2015 and luxury outlet destination Kildare Village, the installation proved immersive and experimental (being Ireland’s first time appearing), forming part of a yearlong program backed by the Irish government coinciding with the Year of Design in Ireland. The following eight designers were selected to showcase their creations to international buyer and editors, being sure to follow In The Fold’s two key themes for AW15 - sustainability and a sense of place. 1. Caoimhe Mac NeiceDublin’s Caoimhe Mac Neice graduated from the National College of Art and Design in 2014. Her first collection ‘Warp’ is monochromatic white, minimal and abstractedly geometric. Starchy, cotton-look fabric forms bent corrugated iron shapes that contort to cover the body. Her philosophy? “Letting construction inform design, as opposed to design informing construction”. 2. Richard Malone A Central Saint Martins graduate, Malone was the first Irish student and first BA to win the LVMH Grand Prix Scholarship in 2014. His collection was based on post-recession Irish youngsters, using shapely silhouettes accessorized, leprechaun-look Buffalo hats doused in masonry painted and embroidered recycled fabrics. 3. Jocelyn Murray Boyne Boyne graduated from the National College of Art and Design in 2013 with her ‘Edges in Ether’ collection. Inspired by humanity’s relationship with nature, her colors and texture appear vast with a desert-meets-forest, jungle versus concrete feel. Every thing has a contrast and paradox.4. Michael StewartMichael Stewart offers a craft-based approach to women’s wear. But these traditional techniques are spun with a contemporary aesthetic. Stewart’s ‘Totem’ collection is inspired by the relationship between humans and the spirit word - using fluid, stretch silk and jerseys to created floaty movement. Very witchy.5. Naoise Farrell Working through characters and illustrative drawings, for Naoise Farrell each design is brought back to the concept that nothing is designed for the sake of it. Studying at the National College of Art and Design, Farrell researched specifically older patterns and referencing for her menswear collection. Then she placed alterations. The result? Menswear rendered in squared, sharp and hard silhouettes.6. Rory Parnell Mooney Galway-born Rory Parnell-Mooney completed a Masters degree in men’s wear at Central Saint Martins. He was quickly selected by Fashion East for their incubator platform MAN and debuted at London Collections: Mens A/W15. Mooney centered his collection on personal motif found in Ireland, using muted shades, sharp tailoring with traditional fabrics like wools and cotton poplins. 7. Oliver Doherty Duncan Hailing from Ballyharry, Duncan studied at the University of Ulster in Belfast, before working in the costume department on season 4 of Game of Thrones. Using traditional handcrafts such as basket weaving and macramé, Doherty explored fashion construction, finding the relationship between the work and the body beneath is key Sustainability and durability are intrinsic to Doherty’s work, too. 8. Laura Kinsella The only milliner in the line-up, Kinsella graduated from the Limerick School of Art & Design in 2008. Gaining work experience in design studios worldwide, she now makes head pieces from Dublin. Her latest collection was led by imagery, experimenting with geometry and origami. Her work was primarily based on wirework frames individually molded into shape from millinery wire – forming millinery architecture.