The relative scarcity of Irish designers participating in London Fashion Week inevitably leads to seasonal efforts at ascribing them a collective identity. But as two shows yesterday eloquently demonstrated, at the moment a national style remains elusive.
Indeed, in many ways Paul Costelloe's collection, which opened the morning, was more international than Irish in feel. The first series of items on the catwalk, for example, appeared inspired by the traditions of British cricketing, with ivory blazers piped in navy and pretty, polkadotted three-quarter length dresses. Then came an array of suede pieces in shades of honey, tan and chocolate, any of which would have looked as much at home in Madrid as Dublin.
In fact, further Hispanic influences cropped up in Mexican-inspired mustard shade silk prints for mid-calf skirts and matching shirts. But just when it seemed that Costelloe had forgotten his origins altogether came an array of clothing in that most traditional of Irish fabrics, linen. It was used for deep brown, cross-buttoning sleeveless dresses, buttermilk chalk-stripe trouser suits and Nehru-collared, vented jackets with matching straight-leg pants. If relaxed tailoring in soft shades looks likely to be Paul Costelloe's best seller for spring/ summer 1998, nothing could be further removed from what is being proposed by Ireland's most famous knitwear designer, Lainey Keogh.
She showed a collection for the first time at last season's London Fashion Week and caused a sensation here with her overtly seductive clothing. Like a second novel or a follow-up play, her next collection was always going to be a challenge: could Keogh, it was being asked, make the same impression twice? The answer yesterday afternoon was a decisive `yes'. Lainey Keogh's longstanding friend and admirer, singer Marianne Faithfull, got the show off to an excellent start by appearing on the floor in a gold gossamer thread coat and full-length aquamarine dress. These were the predominant colours of the entire collection, while the leitmotif running through it all was the sea and the myriad treasures therein.
Their long hair topped with tiny coronets, a succession of exquisite mermaids with names like Kate Moss and Helena Christensen - not to overlook Jasmine Guinness - stepped out enwrapped in garments that clung to their figures like iridescent fish scales.
There were tiny crochet bikini tops looking as though they had been made from scallop shells, dresses the exact shade of pure coral and, in one instance, a minidress which appeared to have been woven from the finest seaweed. One model emerged in a scallop-edged green crochet top shot with silver thread, while Honor Fraser wore a full-length diaphanous coat which might have been spun from pure mother of pearl. A halter-neck dress was studded all over with chunks of amber, another had a surface scattered with pearls and a third was shown with a series of garnet-coloured stones. Lainey Keogh must have trawled the oceans to find such riches.