Air, water, light. These are the three elements inextricably linked to my city. After thirteen years in New York, I still call Dublin home, it will be forever. I am surprised every time by the clean, almost crystal-clear air, the ever-changing light, the proximity to the sea, which I rediscover with long walks in Howth, on the northern tip of the city bay, or in coastal villages like Dalkey. Being born in the Rathfarnham district, close enough to the city to breathe in its vibrancy and far enough away to experience a free, almost wild childhood and adolescence, has greatly influenced my later choices. My sister, brother and I grew up among nature and crafts; together with our mother we played with sewing, collages of leaves and flowers, crochet. Enrolling in the National College of Art and Design and choosing the embroidery niche as my creative and expressive field was almost natural for me.
Mine is a sober city, where everything seeks proportion, beauty lies in atmosphere and nuance, not in spectacle. This sensibility has become an integral part of my language as a fashion designer and creative director. Among the places of craft culture, where I often return for inspiration, are the Irish Design Shop and Design Lane, which showcase local talent and handmade creations such as those of Araucaria Ceramics and La Bougie; Stonechat Jewellers, in Westbury Mall, also allows you to admire the artisans at work from the window. On Grafton Street, the central thoroughfare that resounds with the music of street performers, I find the jewellers Weir & Sons and Boodles. They remind me of the research I did on gems for Victoria’s Secret celebrities: for them I created the rhinestone-covered corsets for Sabrina Carpenter’s world tour.
When I’m in the vicinity of Grafton Street, I also stop at the historic Bewley’s Café, a temple of coffee culture, with stained glass windows and carved wooden interiors. In the city, the meeting of tradition and contemporary design is particularly visible in the Georgian architecture that now houses galleries, studios and cafés. As in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, which houses Irish artisans and creators of jewellery, hats, art and fashion in an 18th-century building with an intimate, typically Dubliner atmosphere.
Also worth a visit is the Powerscourt Estate, House and Gardens, where I found the floral inspiration for former First Lady Jill Biden’s hand-embroidered cashmere coat. In keeping with the understated spirit of the city, it is nice to seek out small, exclusive experiences offered by many of the city’s museums. During a confidential visit to the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks, I found centuries-old tapestries that inspired the embroidery of a bandeau dress for US children’s educator and songwriter Ms. Rachel.
When I was still a child, thanks to my mother, I frequented magical places such as the Chester Beatty Library, rich in rare manuscripts; I explored the Hugh Lane Gallery with its reconstruction of Francis Bacon’s studio; I breathed literary tradition at the MoLI, Museum of Literature Ireland and dreamed in that cathedral of culture that is the Long Room of Trinity College, with the Book of Kells: i often think that the magnificent illuminated letters of that medieval manuscript with the four gospels in Latin, where Celtic symbols, imaginary animals and ornamental designs are intertwined, guided me towards embroidery, to bring those suggestions back to the fabric.
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