At the beginning of this month, designer Joanne Hynes gave birth to her fourth child, a boy called Faolán, in the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin within days of launching a comprehensive fashion and accessories collection for Dunnes Stores. That’s no mean achievement for the Galway native, whose life has taken many twists and turns, personally and professionally, since she graduated with an MA from Central St Martins in London 15 years ago after a degree at LSAD.
Last time I met her in Wicklow, where she now lives with her partner and three other small children, she confessed that as far as fashion was concerned she would rather plant vegetables “out the back” than go to London Fashion Week.
She has always been her own woman, with a strong personal style, free spirited and gifted, contemptuous of trends and forging her own identity as a designer. “I am a fashion designer, image consultant, stylist, businesswoman and a mother who approaches every project with a creative vision” was how she once described herself on her website.
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The strong creative urge has driven her from her very first collections, which used salvaged chandelier crystals and tweeds embellished with brocade, raffia, feathers and sequins to radical approaches to materials like neoprene and Perspex.
The collection is playful and modern and Hynes insists on the quality and hidden details like “the lining, the facing and the finishing is so important and the weight and feel of the coats”. One black collarless coat, for instance, is dotted with black fur bobbles, a zany skirt is cut geometrically in black and pink while accessories include necklaces and little purses with rabbit motifs. Standout items – and the most expensive and desirable pieces – are the reversible shearling teddy coats made in Madrid, particularly one in “muddy” pink with red star elbows and another in bold patchwork colours.
Asked about prices – the shearling coat costs €900, not a tag you’d usually find in Dunnes – she says: “I didn’t want to be pigeonholed by price points, and they are what they are – there are little hats for €25 and tops for €40 . . . shopping has changed and it is not important that [my collection] has to fit certain price points.”
There have been several notable collaborations over the years. One was with basketmaker Joe Hogan, who made striking headwear for a collection in London, another collection in gold, silver and patent leather was shown in Kiev featuring her “Tiger Woman” motif, an accessories collection for Topshop was commissioned in 2009 and a hosiery range with Pretty Polly two years ago. Well-known women such as Amy Huberman, Jessie J and Daphne Guinness were seen in her more striking creations, but what really caught the imagination were her elaborate jewelled collars, made in India, which sold all over the world.
We meet in the cafe at the hospital on Holles Street, where she is waiting to see her newborn, and although recovering from a Caesarean delivery, she is as clear-minded and forthright as ever, eager to discuss the collection, every single aspect of which she masterminded. “I wanted to bring to it all the experience that I have carried with me over the years. I have put an awful lot into it and feel that it has real quality and depth. It is what I am about, and an introduction for new customers,” she says.
That recognisable handwriting, textural play and brio is very evident in this 100-piece collection. Fans will recognise the Tiger Woman motif, this time realised in handcut foil and leather appliqué on what she calls a “mucky green” leather shirt or decorating the front of a leather bomber. There are jazzy mini skirts in laser cut and woven leather, black dresses studded with silver beads and rings, new takes on Aran knits twinkling with crystal and velvet jackets with thick zips.
As for the signature jewelled collars, there are two heavily encrusted versions and a range of embellished leather hairbands as well as her familiar Art-Deco style Perspex decor enlivening dresses and tops. In short it is, as she says, a “fully fledged, meaty collection”. The work is obvious, but how does she manage motherhood and fashion design? “Life is so busy, but my head is better because I am quicker with my decisions. I don’t labour over them like I used, so if something doesn’t work, [my attitude is] amputate it”, she says with a grin.
She is already designing the spring collection, and seems proud of her collaboration with Dunnes. “For me, quality was the main thing rather than the design, but I feel with this everything has come together and it comes out of what I love. People don’t need more clothes, but at the same time there is room for a collection like this.”
The Joanne Hynes collection is available in Dunnes Stores at Stephen’s Green, Cornelscourt and Grafton Street, Dublin; Patrick Street, Cork; and Eyre Square, Galway
