Ireland Fashion Week: Celebrating Irish Roots
Ireland Fashion Week is here, and IrelandsEye is delighted to join some of Ireland’s most talented designers for the second year in presenting the Irish Roots Show.
Set against the historic backdrop of St. Helen’s Hotel in South Dublin, where heritage and contemporary Irish hospitality sit naturally side by side, the show brings together a remarkable group of designers to
celebrate the breadth of creativity within Irish fashion today.
The Irish Roots Show is a celebration of what it means to create in Ireland: to be informed by our traditions and history while continuing to evolve them. Heritage houses, family-run labels and emerging
talent will share the runway, each offering a distinct perspective on Irish design and demonstrating how deeply rooted traditions can inspire something entirely contemporary.
From century-old weaving mills and tailoring houses to a new generation of womenswear designers, the show reflects an Irish fashion industry that is both grounded in its history and alive with new ideas.
While each participating designer brings something individual to the runway, we are united by values that have long been central to IrelandsEye: craftsmanship, storytelling, sustainability and cultural
identity.
Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship has been at the heart of IrelandsEye from the
beginning.
Great design takes time. It requires consideration, knowledge and an understanding of the materials and techniques that allow an idea to become something lasting. For us, that means remaining connected to the traditions of Irish heritage knitting while embracing the technology and innovation that allow us to continually develop our craft.
Every IrelandsEye garment is made here on the island of Ireland and passes through 27 skilled pairs of hands as it moves through our factory. It is this combination of people, skill and technology that brings each design to life.
For the pieces appearing on the Irish Roots runway, we have taken particular care in developing quality yarns in bespoke shades chosen to complement the silhouettes of the collection. From the first design idea to the finished garment, every detail has been carefully considered.
Ireland Fashion Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate not only the finished pieces, but the craftsmanship, expertise and time behind them.
Storytelling
Ireland has an extraordinary tradition of folklore and mythology, and these stories continue to provide a rich source of inspiration for us as designers.
Our ‘Elemental’ collection draws on the story of the Cailleach, a powerful figure in Irish mythology associated with winter, storms and creation. Fierce yet protective, her duality is reflected throughout the collection in pieces that explore warmth, strength, comfort and protection.
In some traditions, the Cailleach and Bríd, the goddess associated with spring, are understood as two faces of the same goddess, one marking the darkness and harshness of winter, the other the return of light and renewal.
That transition between seasons is expressed through the collection itself. Layered jersey cardigans, wool wraps and oversized sweaters offer warmth and protection against the elements, while contrasting cable and lace pieces introduce a lighter quality for the changing seasons.
The landscape provides its own language of colour. Bright Heather and Lichen draw inspiration from native Irish flora, while the deeper tones of Peat evoke Ireland’s expansive boglands.
Rather than interpreting our heritage literally, we look to its stories, landscapes and traditions as a starting point, allowing them to inform something new.
Sustainability
Nature is both a source of inspiration and the source of the
raw materials we work with, making our responsibility towards it an important part of how we design and manufacture.
We produce our designs in small quantities and knit our garments to shape, helping to limit waste during production. Keeping our
manufacturing close also gives us a direct relationship with the making process and the people behind it.
For us, sustainability and craftsmanship are intrinsically linked: it is about considering how something is designed and made, and creating knitwear intended to be worn and valued well beyond a single season.
Cultural Identity
The Irish Roots Show gives us a platform to celebrate the depth of our cultural identity and what it means to create Irish knitwear today.
For IrelandsEye, being Irish is about more than inspiration. It is embedded in how we design and how we make. Every garment is produced here on the island of Ireland, connecting contemporary design with generations of Irish knitting knowledge and craftsmanship.
Our cultural identity can be found in the techniques that inform our designs, the landscape and folklore that inspire our collections, and, importantly, in the people and skills behind every garment.
As the only dedicated knitwear house taking part in Ireland Fashion Week, we are proud to represent a distinctly Irish approach to knitwear, one that respects its heritage without being defined by the past. Our ambition is to show what Irish knitwear can be today: contemporary and internationally relevant, while remaining unmistakably connected to where it comes from.
That identity extends into contemporary Irish culture too. From IrelandsEye appearing on screen in Bad Sisters and The Traitors Ireland, to our sponsorship of the London Irish Centre and dressing
singer-songwriter David Keenan for the Irish Roots Show, we are proud to see our knitwear become part of a wider expression of Irish creativity at home and abroad.
Irish Roots, Looking Forward
For IrelandsEye, our roots provide a foundation rather than a boundary. The skills, stories and traditions that have shaped Irish knitwear continue to inform us, while challenging us to explore what comes next.
Ireland Fashion Week is an opportunity to celebrate that balance: respecting the craft we have inherited while continuing to evolve it.
We are proud to make our knitwear here on the island of Ireland, and proud to bring the work of our designers, knitters and makers to the Irish Roots runway.
