The Irish fashion design graduates to watch | IMAGE.ie

1 Rachel McKinney, Limerick School of Art & Design (LSAD)

When Rachel McKinney inherited her great grandmother’s button collection from her time as a seamstress during the Great Depression, World War II and beyond, it got her thinking of her own time working in an alterations shop and the idea of ‘make do and mend’. Drawing inspiration from the buttons, she has created a personal and sustainable collection using secondhand and deadstock materials that’s giving us Americana meets Pearly Queen and we are so here for it.

2 Cosima Sophia Augustin-Malloy Limerick School of Art & Design (LSAD)

Augustin-Malloy’s ‘Key Moments’ reminds us that our lives can change in an instant. When her mum became ill, the designer’s sense of the beauty around us became heightened – the blue sky, the grace of roses, the warm sunshine. Another sustainable collection from LSAD, the designer used naturally dyed wools and silks as well as natural silk screen printing inks to produce a collection grounded in appreciation, acceptance and steadfastness in adversity.

3 Leah Marshall, Limerick School of Art & Design (LSAD)

Marshall’s ‘I Saw Light’ collection is inspired by the excitement and colour of Malta’s International Firework Festival. The dark skies, the bright colours, the sounds and the people inspired her collection which employs glass beads, crocheted pieces evocative of ‘giggifogu’ or ground fireworks, and beaded fringing and knits strung with beads designed to catch the light and capture the movement of fireworks.