Upfront News
Monday 20th April
Celebrating the WORLD of fashion in the KINGDOM of Style
The inaugural Kerry Fashion Weekend was held in venues throughout the Kingdom of Kerry on Friday 17th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of April 2009. Highlights included a Fashion and Photography Exhibition and Boutique Boulevard in Tralee; Eco Little Black Dress celebration and Designer Runway Show in Dingle, and the Kerry Fashion Designer of the Year Awards (in association with the Aghadoe Heights Hotel & IMAGE magazine) in Killarney. For more information visit www.kerryfashion.eu
Highlights
Jimmy Deenihan TD officially opened the weekend with an invite only cocktail reception to launch the Fashion and Photography Exhibition in Fels Point Hotel, Tralee on Friday 17th of April. Exhibition featured the work of top Irish and International Fashion Photographers including Andreas Pettersson, Agata Stoinska, EJ Carr, Barry McCall, Timothy Hogan and more. Special guest on the night was international fashion designer, Don O Neill (who was on the KFW awards panel and had jetted in from NYC that morning to attend). The evening also included salon style fashion show profiling work of Kerry designers including Caroline Matthews, Delphine, Kathleen McAuliffe, Conor Holden (who all attended) and many more.
On Saturday night the fashion set descended upon Dingle for the Designer Runway Show in the Dingle Skellig Hotel. Award winning designer, Delphine Grandjouan, opened the Dingle show with her new, much anticipated LBD collection and students from London College of Fashion closed the show with their Eco Inspired LBD creations. (This project was commissioned and funded by Kerry Fashion Weekend and finalists selected from a number of entrants from London College of Fashion). The forever fabulous, Liz Greehy, stylebible.ie, co ordinated a segment on international designer labels and Louise James, Upfront Models, produced the show. TV stylist Cathy O Connor and celebrity make up artist, Derrick Carberry, selected Mary Stapleton as the Best Dressed Lady and presented her with of a 2 night escape to five star Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin including dinner. Fresh from London Fashion Week, Kathryn O Neill, head of make up artistry for Daniel Sandler, showcased the icon look during the show and celebrity stylist Pat O Neill oversaw the hair team.
The culmination of the weekend was the Kerry Fashion Designer of the Year Awards in the Aghadoe Heights Hotel on Sunday 19th of April. Featuring collective designer fashion show and awards ceremony - this awards luncheon was attended judges (Melanie Morris, IMAGE magazine); Louise Kennedy (fashion designer) and Don O Neill (Kerry born fashion designer, working in NYC, just launched new personal collection Theia), and many well known names from the world of fashion, style and celebrity, including Pamela Flood, Marie Chawke, Triona McCarthy and Kerrys own style set, including Helen O Carroll, Sandra O Brien, sisters Anne and Michelle O Neill, Mary Stapleton and Aileen Garvey.
Delphine Grandjouan (House of Delphine), was declared the Kerry Fashion Designer of the Year at an Awards Ceremony. French born Delphine, who has worked and lived in Kerry for the past 15 years saw off competition from top womenswear designers Eilis Boyle and Claire O Connor to scoop this prestigious award. Dingle based Milliner, Kathleen McAuliffe won Kerry Fashion Accessory Designer and Matt Doody was declared the Kerry One to Watch designer. Each of the winners received a Killarney Crystal Trophy, overnight in the Aghadoe Penthouse Suite and substantial marketing support packages to promote and develop their businesses.
Co-ordinated by Upfront PR, Event and Model Management, Kerry Fashion Weekend aimed to highlight the best of Kerry Fashion locally, nationally and internationally and to promote Kerry as a fashion / retail destination. Organisers are already planning KFW 2010 which will be held on Saturday 10th and 11th of April 2010.