LSAD and NCAD graduate shows feature polished collections, with notable use of digital technology in design process of manyNCAD: Part of Mia Hanlon Wade's collection, seen at an advance preview of next Friday's degree show at the college's Thomas Street campus in Dublin Mon Jun 01 2026 - 06:00 • 4 MIN READMay is the season of student fashion shows and the recent presentation from LSAD’s 31 graduates in their Clare Street campus, a former convent, in Limerick was simply outstanding. The first fashion show at the college in nine years, it was introduced with a perceptive and rousing speech from Mayor of Limerick John Moran on the nature and creativity of fashion and design. He spoke enthusiastically about the city’s Fashion Incubator project, and Limerick as a creative hub. “Fashion is identity, craftsmanship, culture made visible,” he said. “This is not just a fashion show. This is confidence and creativity, a city beginning to believe more deeply in its own talent again. Cities need creative people not simply to decorate them, but to reimagine them, which is why supporting fashion and creative industries became such an important priority for me.” Acknowledging that many of the graduates will leave Ireland to further their careers, he addressed them directly: “Creativity belongs not on the margins of our city but at its centre ... we are building a Limerick to welcome you back, where you can feel you can build a life and career.”It was an impressive start to the show that featured many polished collections – from those inspired by grandmothers (Kayla Gorman’s Eilish, Laura Armitage’s Kitty’s House, Siobhan O’Brien’s Winnie), to others who took their starting points from local history (Rosemary O’Connor’s elegant robes/habits were a reference to the convent’s notorious past as a mother and baby home, while in Spirit Store 9, Cillian Fitzpatrick’s modern streetwear was a response to Limerick’s Georgian Quarter). Notable were many collections using Clo3D software technology. “Digital fashion is becoming an increasingly important space within the industry,” says Alan Kelly, lecturer and joint programme co-ordinator of the fashion school. Its four pathways – Collection Design, Technology for Fashion, Applied Textiles and Sustainability – allow students to experiment with each before making decisions about their final year.Particularly memorable were Ellen Moran’s sensuous collection manipulating Lainey Keogh yarn and metallic lace, Faolan Lynch’s ballet-inspired sculptural silhouettes, Abby Brogan’s colourful tufted knitwear, Ellen Henry’s zany quilting and fringing, Iryna Poliukhovych’s abstract tattered shapes, Caoimhe Hickey’s dark billowing gowns, and the curvaceous leathers of Eabha Daly and Alicia Eugenia Castro Gonzales. Primal Instinct by Ellen Moran, LSAD Interlaced by Tammi O'Brien, LSAD Fallen Angels by Rosemary O'Connor, LSAD Charlotte Carville's You Are Here, NCAD Akelarre, Season of the Witch by Alicia Eugenia Castro Conzales, LSAD Girls in Bloom, collection by Abby Brogan, LSAD Kayla Gorman's Eilish, LSAD In a very diverse line-up, two collections summed up the extremes: the joyful multicoloured separates of Tammi O’Brien, with their stripes, knits and graphic motifs; and Sarah McGath’s all-black collection inspired by her Irish heritage that skilfully combined traditional materials with screen printing, knitting and pleating – dark armour for a modern femme fatale. Full marks to tutors Alan Kelly and Linda Quinn. LSAD: Photographer Jamie Moore, models Holman Lee and student models.***Next Friday, 18 NCAD graduates will stage their degree show in the Thomas Street campus. At an advance preview in the college, tutors Natalie B Coleman and Linda Byrne describe this year’s graduates as very curious and creative storytellers, with the issue of sustainability high on their agendas. “They are experienced particularly in terms of materials, yet underpin their work with sound technical skills and garment engineering,” says Byrne. As in Limerick, what is striking is the diversity of the collections and their concepts. “They connect with everything happening socially, culturally and politically. They are good makers and very good with fabric and they don’t separate making from design – the inside of the garment is as important as the outside. And they collaborate with other disciplines like jewellery in the college,” adds Coleman. NCAD’s Fashion Design programme headed by Angela O’Kelly is rooted in craftsmanship. “At its core it embraces Ireland’s textile and craft heritage, reinterpreting traditions through contemporary design methodologies,” she says. “We place strong emphasis on practice-based research … and thinking through making.”Many of the students draw from their own personal experiences and interests. Charlotte Carvill’s practical, transformative clothing geared for festivals was shaped by a life spent hiking and exploring her home landscape in Wicklow. Ellen Colbert is committed to recycling everything from pants to zips, collecting clothing from charity shops, even remodelling used sleeping bags. Ian Concannon uses latex in innovative ways – even on muslin – to shape a narrative around the nature of identity. Latex is also used in Benjamin Farrelly’s very experimental and studied line-up of appliqued tweed, tartans and moulded knitwear.Gabrielle Dalby's With Love from Helen, NCAD Rebecca Shotunde, Through My Hair collection, NCAD Evan O'Toole's men's wear collection, NCAD Lionnar by Izzy Evans, NCAD In total contrast is Gabrielle Dalby’s frothy assembly of conventionally feminine materials – silk organza, tulle, taffeta and grosgrain in soft pastel shades that takes its inspiration from Russian matryoshka dolls and her grandmother Helen. Izzy Evan’s wild, colourful tufting, felting and knitwear comes from a nostalgia for childhood summer holidays by the sea, while Daniel Fahy’s darkly Gothic macramé womenswear retells the tragedy of a shipwreck in 1854 in which more than 200 women perished.Some collections reveal exceptional illustrative skills, like that of Mia Hanlon Wade who uses film and her technical expertise to create what she calls “comfortable “images of herself. Homesickness while in Canada made Evan O’Toole think of Irish history, and Kilmainham Gaol in particular, for his sustainable men’s wear using natural and vintage fabrics and trimmings. Rebecca Shotunde focuses on black hair culture from her ethnic Nigerian ancestry, using real hair to create elegant sculptural garments. She is a step ahead of the others having already started a business called Studio Plus. “Our graduates are designers capable of redefining fashion’s cultural significance through making, material intelligence and storytelling,” concludes O’Kelly. NCAD will have four more presentations of student work on Saturday, June 6th, Sunday 7th, Monday 8th, and Friday 12th.NCAD: Photographer/videographer Sean Jackson, models Alex de Simone, Quadri Olajuwon Lamidiajao, Aoibheann Clancy, Mia Arganio, Dora Osa, Ellen Moran (Ros Model Management). Hair and make-up Leonard Daly.IN THIS SECTION