Style Notes: Cool Colin Horgan coats, warm weather layers, wearable art at Bloom and a new jewellery line from Cork

The Kerry-born designer has marked himself out for special attention with his statement coats, a clever fusion of elegance and utility. I love the signature elements he has made his own, with distinctive three-dimensional pocketing detail on the sleeves and the two-tone aesthetic with creative threads.

Colin has also introduced a shorter version with a cropped military jacket, which works a dream with his exploration of mesh dressing, styled here by Eoin Gavin. Eoin took Colin’s pieces, including bomber jackets costing €600 and bonded tops, €135, and layered them with a silver skirt and shirt from Dawei Studio at Beautiful South in Dublin, plus other elements like And Again AG vintage pieces and Capulet & Montague jewellery.

Colin is not a man for a new collection every season and he has found his own creative seasonal rhythms at his studio in Ardfert, focusing on product development and devising a direct-to-customer business model, which allows for all sorts of tweaks to be made.

There are no seasonal prejudices to wearing black and dark colours, and Colin has an amazing long fringed dress, glazed leather lace-up skirt and bottle-green long trench (€1,200), corset top (€395) and cashmere wool skirt (€355).

Customer-wise, Colin is an interesting phenomenon because his client base is so wide, spanning across the generations of customers and the in-betweens who might want something a little bit more daring.

People can engage with the product at different events and collabs he does throughout the year. June will be a busy month and Colin has been updating the Pride Room that he did for the Hard Rock Hotel in Dublin. colin-horgan.com

Summer cashmeres

Ros Duke’s new Vico collection of lightweight cashmere was inspired by an image of the iconic Vico swimming baths by Niall Meehan of Sea Studio.

I’ve always loved his work and it’s lovely to see how Ros has interpreted it and captured the essence of the summer. Her palette of dusk blue, ivory, oatmeal, smoke and ash grey matches the coastal landscape, evoking memories of sitting back against the warm stones catching rays beside the sea.

Ros is super gifted at creating textural cashmeres for the modern woman. This season, she has gone another step forward and delivers layering options for warm weather, including a handy new singlet in super-fine Italian cashmere.

New styles for Ros collectors to watch out for are the ‘Pampas’ long-sleeve knit with extra-long ribbing — this particular pattern maps your body with tiny pointelle vertical lines, offering a graceful and flattering fit.

She has done it in an oversized, round-neck sweater, and then there’s the ‘Zig Zag’ lightweight and slouchy boxy-shaped cardigan with snap fasteners at the front — ideal for sitting in the shade worn over a singlet, or wearing on its own as a top.

There are seven pieces in eight colours, with prices ranging from €270 to €575.

All styles are available at Emporium Kalu in Naas and from the designer’s own website, rosduke.com

Bloomin’ gorgeous

Bloom takes place in the Phoenix Park this weekend, with lots for the gardeners and food lovers, but there will be some fashiony bits too. I recommend you check out the wearable art from Jennifer Rothwell at Stand 37 in the DCCI Craft Village.

I’m a huge fan of her small silk square scarves, and Jennifer will be showcasing her collection of James Joyce-inspired framed silk textile artwork in which we see Joyce surrounded by beautiful blue and fuchsia orchids and wearing one of her hummingbird bow-ties.

Jennifer describes her designs as “conversation starters” that promote modern-day Ireland while paying homage to its rich and wonderful past. “My designs uplift your soul and make you smile,” says Jennifer — and I totally agree! jenniferrothwell.com

New beginning

She’s been a fashion legend in her native Cork for years due to her eponymous store and now, after working in the restaurant business, Beth Houghton is launching Love Beth, a range of handmade designer jewellery, with prices starting at €35 for an ocean bead and crystal ring.

The line is available on her website, and Beth is also doing bespoke collections for Les Jumelles in Galway and Begley & Bowie in Kenmare, two of my absolute favourite places to drop into for a look around. lovebeth.ie