Despite the very finest efforts of assorted designers, journalists, photographers and stylists, some people just remain immune to fashion. Yes, the shocking truth demands to be told; not everyone wishes to know about current clothing trends. This is particularly the case in the area of professional dress, where fashion scarcely seems to venture. Either no style code exists - in which case the lowest common denominator is permitted to rule - or else a long-established (otherwise known as out-dated) approach is taken.
The latter has certainly been true of classical musicians, whose performance clothes remain locked in genteel reminiscence of an earlier age. Orchestral performers and soloists alike look as though clad in formaldehyde fashion, a style of dress abandoned decades ago by everyone else. Visit the National Concert Hall on any night of the week and the gap between audience and musicians is considerably wider than a couple of rows of seats. While the auditorium is filled with casually dressed individuals, the stage will usually hold what appear to be the relics of a vintage Noel Coward production - well-worn dinner jackets and threadbare black dresses.
Until now, the only alternative proposed has been of the Vanessa-Mae variety, offering performers the opportunity to participate in a form of wet T-shirt competition. Next weekend, however, a fresh approach to dressing for the performance of classical music makes its debut when the Irish Chamber Orchestra presents a new image.
As one member explains, until now, "the usual attire for a concert was black (anything) for the women and tails for the men". In other words, standard issue unimaginative dress for a group of classical musicians.
However, all members of the ICO are relatively young and they wanted to find a way of dressing consistent with their fresh approach to music programming and performance. So last autumn, they turned to stylist Sonya Lennon, who has plenty of experience in working with musicians, although hitherto these have been the likes of Boyzone, The Corrs and Altan. The ICO consists of 16 performers "all with ideas of their own as to what was acceptable and what was not". When she took on the job of re-styling the orchestra last autumn, Sonya's first task was to collect and compare everyone's views and try to find common ground. "It was a big undertaking because there were so many of them. I usually work with bands which have four or five members and are much more containable." During the initial consultation period, certain requests tended to turn up regularly. The eventual garments had to provide ease of movement as well as being comfortable and hard-wearing.
"Right at the beginning," she says, "it was pretty clear they were going to need specially-made pieces." Before now, Sonya has always found ready-made clothes for her clients but on this occasion she had to supervise every stage from selection of fabric to final pressing. "The orchestra was involved in every stage and we had regular symposiums. Basically, we began with general chats and carried on through to trying on toiles." Colour was one major point of discussion as various options were scrutinised. "Initially, we did think about breaking with traditional form and abandoning black. But the orchestra has a lot of guest musicians and changing colour would have been too messy. Guests would have ended up feeling very out of sorts when they looked different to everyone else." Settling on one colour for everyone in the group offered a certain coherence - "I think it was a big step for them to think of themselves as a single unit." Another advantage to black is that it tends to show dirt less easily than other shades. Staying with the traditional colour while abandoning the traditional form, Sonya still had to find a new approach to what remains, in certain key respects, a uniform.
"We didn't want costumes that were going to shout," she explains. "They had to be very, very simple. All the guys, for example, are really young, vibrant and good-looking; they're very personality-driven in their performances. We wanted the costumes to be behind the instruments and faces rather than taking over."
The resulting clothes have a contemporary quality while avoiding the danger of becoming too easily dated. "I hope they're not in any way faddish," Sonya says. "We tried to avoid whims and that's why everything has been pared down to such an extent. I think they're the sort of clothes which will always work; they're understated, as they should be, with a nod towards Japanese timelessness."
Underscoring the necessity for versatility, women in the orchestra have been given five interchangeable pieces. A wrapover tunic can be worn with either softly draping trousers or a long skirt dipping at the back. Both these pieces can be teamed with flyfront jacket or with a full-length coat. The last of these could be worn alone as a button-through dress. The men's options are simpler, based around a three-quarter length frock coat and flat-fronted trousers. Separately or together, these will be worn with a black or white soft-collared shirt or a long-sleeved crew-neck top "which is a lot less formal". Everything was manufactured in Ireland - Magee's took responsibility for the men's suiting - using technologically advanced fabrics which are both light and hard-wearing. Although the clothes were "a bit of a shock for them at the start," Sonya Lennon says the orchestra members are now happy with their restyled image. "They're very comfortable with the clothes," and presumably their audience will feel the same way.
The Irish Chamber Orchestra can be seen in its new clothes at the Irish Museum of Modern Art next Sunday, April 26th at 3 p.m. in a performance of music by Puccini, Donizetti and Verdi.
Sample Chanel's new Allure body and bath line and win a weekend for two at Dublin's Clarence Hotel
The Irish Times Readers' Competition
Two years ago, Chanel launched its latest fragrance, Allure, a sophisticated abstract floral scent with more than a hint of citrus. Difficult to describe, impossible to forget, Allure is as irresistible as the quality from which its name is taken. Now a complete range of body and bath products bearing the same heady perfume is about to be released in Ireland, offering the fragrance's fans a soap, bath gel, body lotion and body cream. To mark the occasion, Chanel is offering Irish Times readers a chance both to sample the line and possibly to win a weekend for two at Dublin's Clarence Hotel. All you have to do is bring this page to the Chanel counter in Brown Thomas, Dublin after 9 a.m. today. The first 1,000 readers to do so will be given a special Allure sample pack containing eau de toilette, bath gel and body lotion. Each of these readers will then be entered into a draw for a luxury weekend for two staying in the garden suite at the Clarence Hotel on Friday, June 5th and Saturday June 6th next. The winner will find flowers and champagne on arrival in the hotel, together with an Allure bathrobe laid out on the bed and the complete line of Allure products in the bathroom. Also included in the prize is the option on Friday night of dinner either in the hotel's restaurant, The Tea Room, or from room service, while on Saturday night dinner will be in La Stampa restaurant on Dawson Street. The weekend will conclude with breakfast in bed (or in the Clarence's restaurant) and a late check-out on Sunday morning.
Rules: Employees (and their families) of The Irish Times, Chanel, Brown Thomas, The Clarence Hotel and their agents are not eligible to enter. Cash will not be given in lieu of the prize. The prize is strictly non-transferable. The winner must be available on the weekend specified. The draw will take place on Friday, April 25th and the winner will be notified by Wednesday, April 29th. A full set of written rules is available on written request from the Promotions Department, The Irish Times Ltd, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2. No further correspondence will be entered into.
