Season 8: Rewilding

Spellbound by the wild beauty of the west Clare region, I took inspiration from the Burren’s vast weathered stone pavements, its abundance of biodiversity as well the hope the ecologically-rich habitat holds for the rewilding of our planet and the reversal of climate change.

This collection tells the story of the magic and resilience of the Burren. At first glance, the Burren appears bare, dull and empty, yet look a little closer, and you’ll notice thriving botanical diversity emerging from the cracks in the limestone. The Burren is actually the most biodiverse ecosystem in Ireland, simply because it's been allowed to flourish and regenerate naturally, without human interference.

When I visit the Burren, I am left with a feeling of hope. We can replicate the beauty of this unique untouched habitat elsewhere through‘rewilding’, the concept that by letting nature restore and repair itself, we can help combat climate change and reverse species extinction.

My latest designs tell this story in three parts.

Chapter 1, The Burren: Áit na Cloiche - The Place Of Stone.

Is siombail iad na péacáin ghlasa atá le feicéal tríod na cosáin cloiche iad na headaí bréidín seo, atá mhionbhreactha le glas.

(The green sprouts that can be seen through the stone paths are a symbol of these tweed clothes, which are detailed with green.)

This is signified by garments made with grey Irish tweed flecked with strands of lime green. The custom tweed is a collaboration with John Hanly Woollen Mills in Tipperary, symbolising the green shoots of life that emerge from the stone pavements.

Chapter 2, The Burren: An Mothúchain - That Feeling

Aimsíonn an caibidil seo an mothúchán iontach a thagann ón nádúr nuair a thosnaíonn sé ag nochtadh domhain an dúlra gan chur isteach ar bith. Tá bán dearg na peitil le feiscint sa ‘Gúna Móthucáin’ dochreidte. 

(This chapter discovers the wonderful feeling that comes from nature when it begins to reveal the depth of nature without any interference. The red white of the petals can be seen in the incredible 'That Feeling Dress'.)

This chapter captures the sensation felt when the vibrancy of nature's untouched world begins to reveal itself.

Chapter 3, The Burren: Dóchas - Hope

Sa caibidil seo, is dath lárnach é gorm an spéir, sé cúlra an boireann agus dath an leigheas atá ceaptha le cumhacht an nadúr. Tagann inspioráid an píosa deireanach sa séasúr, ‘An Gúna Fiáine’, ó na ‘Fionnscoth Orchids’ dúchasach den Boireann.

(In this chapter, the blue of the sky is a central colour, it is the background of the Burren and the colour of medicine that is formulated with the power of nature. The inspiration for the last piece in the season, 'The Wild Dress', comes from the 'Finnscoth Orchids' native to the Burren.)

This chapter prominently features sky blue, the backdrop to the Burren and a colour associated with the healing power of nature.