In a season where glamour, the so-called "g word", has been much in vogue, it was apt that last night the award-winning g Hotel in Galway was the venue for one of the year's more glamorous fashion events, writes Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor.
Philip Treacy, the world's most famous hat designer, returned to his home county to present his first solo millinery show in Ireland to mark the hotel's second birthday.
On the catwalk and competing with the g's zany interiors for which Treacy was responsible, were 50 extraordinary hats modelled by some of the most high-profile models in the fashion business including Jade Parfitt, Erin O'Connor and Jasmine Guinness. Guests had the opportunity to see couture from Valentino along with collections from Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and Alexander McQueen, the designer with whom "the crown prince" as Treacy is often dubbed, has often collaborated.
Predictably, the hats, a mix of archive and new creations, ranged from the fantastic to the futuristic, from the flamboyant to the fanciful and feathery, usually defying gravity. One of the most spectacular was a purple butterfly cloud hat made originally in red for McQueen's spring summer collection and a butterfly eyemask from Treacy's 2003 couture collection. A highlight was an l8in-high black Afro style affair made from shredded stiffening fabric like otherworldly candyfloss.
Treacy, who was born in Ahascragh in l967 and graduated from NCAD, was the protege of Isabella Blow, the late eccentric style icon. Blow was celebrated at Alexander McQueen's recent Paris show for which Treacy designed the hats.
Last year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from UCD and the travelling exhibition "When Philip Met Isabella" at the National Museum in Collins Barracks drew record attendances, attracting over 43,000 people.
"Fashion is about illusion", said Treacy, "and I entertain visually - hats are about magic and they make the heart beat faster," though he also confided that some of the best fashion shows he remembers were the weddings in the local church opposite his home in Ahascragh.