Restraint has always been the key to Louise Kennedy's collections. This season is no exception. Her clothes keep getting more and more pared down, while the fabrics and colours get more and more extravagant.
Shown in the spare perfection of her Merrion Square house, the clothes more than held their own.
The designer is using silk, a lot of it hand-beaded or sequined; the finest suedes; clingy, fluid silk jersey and stretch viscose; and some wonderful cashmeres.
There are also lightweight wools and glossy shantung for her immaculate tailoring.
All the clothes fit: skirts are tight, trousers are slender but not narrow, and jackets are waisted. The dress is a classic shift that follows the body's line.
That's it, but how varied it seems given the colours.
There is pale blue for sequined trousers and a suede jacket (£810 and £849 respectively); an orchid-pink, beaded silk, sheath dress (£279); and a magenta wool crepe jacket and skirt (£385 and £145 respectively); but there are also vanilla, dazzling pink, lavender, jade, both pale and strong, white, a little black, and even a dash of navy. And more besides.
Among the most beautiful are the cashmeres: mainly designed as small tops, or twinsets with a twist, they can be worn with any of the beaded skirts or trousers, the tailored wools or shantungs or can have matching skirts in a heavier gauge and made pretty with a frill around the hem.
While there are pale colours, the fun is in the bright pinks and blues and jades.
The only concession to a more relaxed style are the linens, where trousers are teamed with tailored jackets, tunics and tabards. The most formal "after dark" numbers tend to be in a rich aubergine colour, using the completely hand-beaded fabric and given a fit that suggests a perfect figure is required for these perfect clothes.
The collection is available at 56 Merrion Square, Dublin; Brown Thomas; Kilkenny; and other independent stores. Her Knightsbridge store has just celebrated its first anniversary.