Dublin Fashion Festival Part 1:

Dublin Fashion Festival Part 1:

In case you live under a rock with no wifi you wouldn’t have known that last week in Dublin City centre was Dublin Fashion Festival. This meant lights, camera, action…literally!! It also meant style, glamour, shows and after parties. The cream of the fashion crop were out in force for the four day festival and we at Siopaella were only delighted to be included in that.

There were definite highlights from the festival which included Courtney Smith’s H&M jacket and Ciaran Gormley’s stunning masterpiece, all of which will be discussed in the blog.

 There was something for everyone during this year’s event including free manicures and make overs on the Evoke bus, fashion shows on Dublin’s two busiest shopping streets and also an opportunity for young designers to showcase their tremendous talent.

It was this talent that kicked off the festival. On Thursday evening College Green was transformed into the most amazing location for the Young Designer of the Year show. The fashion Gods smiled down on us as we were graced with a beautiful evening with not one drop of rain. To this day I am still scratching my head wondering what would have happened if it had rained??

The style on the night was outstanding. International stylist and Siopaella favourite Courtney Smith looked stunning (as always) in a faux fur H&M jacket which was picked as one of her “Courtney Covets”; a collaboration between Courtney and H&M in which she picked out her favourite pieces from their A/W line.

Other stunners were Brian Conway who looked as dashing and handsome as ever, Tanith McGrath (Rough-Dreams) and Corina Gaffey (Eileen was fan girling over her 60s look and we don’t blame her).  

Cocktails, using Dingle Vodka, were provided by Lillie’sBordello and they were delicious. After some snaps and a quick interview of me and Eileen by Dominique McMullan for the Irish Times, which you can catch here, it was time for the show to begin.

The night was hosted by our favourite fashion duo, Brendan Courtney and Sonya Lennon. The first show consisted of entries by twelve young designers all fighting it out to be crowned with the title of Young Designer of the Year and for a chance for a photo-shoot with the one and only Barry McCall.

All of the designs were truly breath-taking but the prize on the night went to Mr Ciaran Gormley (remember that name) who is a student at the University of Belfast. His design of a cobalt blue knitted dress modelled by the fierce Teodora Sutra opened the show. There were nods of approval throughout the audience.

A second show on the night previewed looks from Lennon Courtney, Brown Thomas Create and Clerys. Before the night I thought I couldn’t be more excited for A/W fashion but oh no how I was wrong. I am a winter baby so please pass me all of the knits, coats and boots…NOW!

There was an after party hosted at Lillies Bordello but with another night of fashion festivities all of us at Siopaella decided to call it a night and get some beauty sleep for the next night (I know hard to believe?!).

For scandal on the second night of DFF which was hosted in Powerscourt Town Centre be sure to check out my next blog.

Ciara x

Frockadvisor App Launch at Siopaella

Frockadvisor App Launch:

On Thursday evening we at Siopaella opened our doors to host an event with the rather fabulous Brendan Courtney and Sonya Lennon. While prosecco was drank and giggles were had the aim of the event was to spread the word about the darling duos new app; Frockadvisor. It’s an app not only for boutiques like us at Siopaella but also for you and me, customers on the Irish market who love buying quality and buying Irish.

The app allows you to discover the Irish market through “fotocons” (a word they coined themselves and are very very proud of). 

In a world of Topshop dresses and Zara skirts being worn in every pub and club, having the ability to shop the Irish market exclusively and being able to put up photos of what you are looking for is so refreshing.  I’m a girl that likes my clothes to be different. Since working at Siopaella I have started to buy more one off gems that come through our doors. Going out on a night out wearing these gems I feel a sense of pride and confidence, not only because I enjoy the thrill of shopping for these one off pieces but also because I’m supporting Irish businesses. However, when I come in from a day off work and see what one of the girls has nabbed, it makes me feel like I've missed out on that item (you should know fights are common in Siopaella HQ due to us all wanting the same items). With this app, you never miss out. It’s shopping on the go, whether you are on the bus, in the bath or cuddled in bed with your cat (just my average night).

The event began when Sonya and her smile (my goodness the woman has a beautiful smile) arrived in our Crow Street store. Steve then popped open the first bottle of prosecco (my favourite sound after a long day of work). Soon after Brendan came bouncing in carrying a bottle of champagne, a definite way to become our bff – yes Brendan is our new bff, don’t be jealous!

Sonya and Brendan then presented the app to our guests who quickly reached for their smartphones to download it. The pair and their fabulous team were on hand to answer any of our questions about the app and to iron out any issues we were having with it. A lot of oohs and aahs were said as they very patiently helped the more tech-illiterate of us (cough, me, cough) but I can seriously vouch for the clarity and simplicity of this app.

After more prosecco and even a bit of shopping, the guests began leaving and we began clearing things away. On a high from the event myself and two of the other girls decided to go out and chat about the night in a local pub. It was goodbye to the fancy prosecco and hello to the plain, old fashioned pints (we really do try our best to be as glamorous as possible).

Waking up the next morning was a snap back to reality as the heels were left at home and lunches were packed. A little fuzzy headed we cycled, walked and got the bus to work dreaming of our next event but until then it’s back to cat cuddling in bed …or until Brendan brings us out for cocktails. As our new bff he better not let us down ;)

Ciara x