Top tipShort from bust to waist? Want to hide that spare tyre or tops of arms? Top Shop have a new T-shirt that is long enough to cover the bum. It is slightly A-shaped with a scooped and gathered neck and (best of all) short, gathered sleeves. It comes in a variety of colours as well as black and white and costs €27. If you buy one in black, wear a black bra underneath as it can mark white underwear, but it has a great slimming effect on top-heavy figures. Another Topshop summer T-shirt has a Toucan print and also costs €27.
Ethical and eye-catching
A zany star-shaped hair brooch made from recycled flip-flops is just one of the eye-catching items in an unusual collection of jewellery made in deprived areas of Nigeria by a Fairtrade company called "Made". Harnessing native artisan skills with input from leading young designers using local materials, the collection stands on its own in design and craft terms while also having a sound ethical base. Founded by Cristina Cisilino in London who tried unsuccessfully to interest a number of shops in retailing the jewellery, it was Jane Shepherdson of Topshop who gave Made its first break. From a tiny stand in the Oxford Circus store, it has now grown to have a turnover of €6,000 a week. It's easy to see why; the brasswork alone looks about five times the price and there are chunky, distinctive necklaces made from bone beads, along with colourful earrings made of glass, bone and trade beads. In Dublin the range can be found downstairs in the St Stephen's Green Topshop. Check out some of the collection at www.made.uk.com
Talking Italian
Griffith College on the SCR in Dublin is adding fashion design to its curriculum from September for a BA Hons or BA (Ord) degree. Already some 700 applications have been received for the course, which will offer computer-aided design instruction to students along with training in manufacturing, business and marketing. The Hons degree also includes a year's study in Italy at the NABA Institute in Milan which has links with the Italian fashion industry, and those on the course will have the opportunity to learn Italian in advance of their stay. The Faculty of Design, which already runs a well-known interior design degree at the college, has developed the fashion programme after considerable research and consultation and an advisory panel of leading industry figures "will mentor these fashion designers of tomorrow", says Diarmuid Hegarty, president of the college. For further information contact www.gcd.ie
Well-heeled
Georgina Goodman is a British shoe designer who makes zany, colourful but extraordinarily comfortable shoes notable for their signature conical heels. Her shoes are expensive, but an inexpensive range produced for Evans last season called "Love Me Love My Shoes" was so successful that she has now added bags, belts and purses to her current summer capsule collection for the company. Sizes range from 4-10 in wider fittings and include everything from flat sandals (€53), red peep toes with striped heels (€68) and polka-dotted peep toes in turquoise or gold (€75 and €68).
