Optix

Asking a designer to cite their inspirations is like asking someone about the hobbies they've listed on their CV. For the record, Optix designer Orla Langan's inspiration comes from Japanese design, films, clubbing and her extensive travels. Exactly what films has she been influenced by? She laughs, and says: "I don't know! You see things when you're walking around town. You see things worn in a certain way, or you're sitting in a club and something just pops into your head."

Optix, her own label, works close to the seasons, which allows Langan to experiment as she goes along, and to incorporate those new ideas. In business two years, and working from her parents' house, she views the small scale of her business as a strength. Limited runs of her clothing mean that when you buy an Optix piece, you're not going to meet tens of people in the same thing.

Using treated cottons and crisp synthetics, her clothes are innovative and unmistakably urban. Although influenced by club wear, they are adaptable and can be worn day or night, dressed up or down. Langan's produce is sold in Dublin and in Root, in London's ultra-hip Brick Lane. But she isn't out to build an empire just yet. "I'd just love to have my clothes in lots of really cool, small shops world-wide," she says.

Optix is stocked at Cuba, Trinity Street, Dublin 2 and Cyan, Swan Centre Rathmines, Co Dublin

Cyane Kingston

Cyane Kingston's designs have a certain louche elegance; there's even something a little Studio 54 about them. The wonder of them, though, is as much in the cutting as it is in the silhouette. Her trousers, in particular, fit like a dream. They skim, rather than cling to the body, and they do the most amazing things to a gal's behind. Similarly, her tops might reveal a shoulder, while disguising the parts of the arm that most women dislike. Hers is a subtle sexiness that flatters the woman, rather than drawing attention to her clothes. Like Langan, Kingston works on a relatively small scale from her home. Was this a conscious decision, or just the way things evolved? "Well, I found that was how I was happiest," she says, and cites the creative freedom as a major incentive. "I never make the same thing twice, and working the way I do gives me total control."

Her lack of formal training has never bothered her, and for the past six years she has made clothes to order for a very lucky and fiercely loyal word-of-mouth clientele. Just before last Christmas she held a salon, where people could meet, have a glass of wine and try on her clothes in an informal and intimate setting. The success of this has encouraged her to think about phasing out made-to-measure, to concentrate on producing clothes for sale at her salons.

Wangle an invite by calling 01-6605636

Sholto Williams

Between leaving Limerick College of Art and Design in 1985, and setting up his own menswear label last year, Sholto Williams has job-hopped around some of the biggest names in fashion. He has worked for Paul Costelloe; Brown's of South Molton Street; for an Israeli supplier to Marks & Spencer; for Magee; and for Margaret Howell.

"For a young designer, there's no point in staying in a job for years," he says. "After two or maybe three years you can't learn anything else from that company. So you move on." What he has retained are a love of good fabrics and a healthy respect for tailoring - by his own admission, something of a speciality.

Williams saw a gap in the market and has taken advantage of it. His first collection hit Kilkenny Shop last month but it proved difficult for fashion watchers to catch, as the shop's sales staff kept snapping up the pieces first. It's an unapologetically commercial range, but crucially, it's made in Ireland and of the highest quality. "Irish men are more discerning now, and travel a lot more. They want something that can compare to, say, Armani." He describes his collection as being European in outlook, but with an Irish signature.

While his designs could be described as "smart casual", the emphasis is on the smart. The softness of the fabrics counters any rigidity normally found in suiting, but the cut is immaculate.

Sholto Williams's first collection is in Kilkenny Shop, Nassau Street, Dublin 2