Dublin's new shopping centre opened this week. Deirdre McQuillan chooses a few spring items you'll find there
When it comes to fashion, all roads lead in one direction this weekend, to Dundrum, Dublin 14 and the newest, biggest and most luxurious shopping/town centre ever constructed in the country. It's not just the simultaneous opening of over 100 shops, a number of them branches of stores new to Ireland, but the rebirth of a village and civic centre, now officially reclassified as a town.
Among the shops, restaurants and food halls, visitors will be able to see the massive House of Fraser department store, for example, which boasts more designer labels under one roof than any other. Its stunning red wall "beacon" architectural feature and fibre optic lighting installations, not to mention its upmarket clothes and furniture, are worth seeing. The long-awaited fast fashion giant H&M, from Sweden, also opens its first Irish unit, alongside other familiar outlets such as Zara, Pull & Bear, River Island, Fitzpatricks, Weirs and Furla. The Harvey Nichols department store will open later in the year.
Quite apart from the dizzying scale of the development and the spread of choice on offer, the new centre, with its spacious glass and limestone buildings and marble malls is worth viewing, along with its open civic spaces, where the old millpond walls have been restored and a fountain and bandstand installed. Third-floor restaurants and bars have spectacular views across the Dublin mountains and bay.
Visitors can take the Luas to Ballaly or travel by car to the car park, which covers one million square feet and can hold 3,500 cars. With each level as big as Croke Park, it boasts a unique car positioning and location system and is very brightly lit. In addition, mobile phone systems can work underground, and lifts take customers directly into the shopping areas.
We've made a selection of key items for spring/summer from a number of places in the new centre, to give you a taste of what's in store.
Some shops will have special opening offers. The first 100 shoppers to a/wear, for instance, received a free goody bag with various accessories of the season; one bag had a gift card worth €1,000.
Coast is offering two Irish Times readers the chance for each to win €375 worth of clothing. All you have to do is complete an entry form in the new Dundrum store between today and March 11th. No purchase is necessary, and entries are limited to one per person. Winners will be notified in writing after the draw.
The new shopping centre will also sell several new cosmetics brands. Melanie Morris reports
Dundrum shopping centre holds many treats for beauty junkies. The big names will all be represented, and the niche players are there, too. In House of Fraser, the roll call of beauty brands runs pretty much as expected - all the premium names are there, but additionally, you'll find Bobbi Brown and Prescriptives (previously available only in Brown Thomas, Dublin), Red Earth (a cult Aussie brand only in Roches Stores until now), La Prairie (divided between Nue Blue Eriu and The Four Seasons Spa prior to this month) and Origins (exclusive to Arnotts for the past year-and-a-half).
Clarins will open its first in-store treatment rooms - three in total - offering the full range of their signature therapies. Also new to Ireland is RNK - a popular Japanese range.
The Boots outlet in Dundrum is one of the company's flagship stores. Like the Liffey Valley megastore, it will carry an extensive beauty range - from Chanel and Estée Lauder to BeneFit and Ruby & Millie, plus a full range of own-brand and mainstream names.
Much has been made of the arrival of H&M in Ireland, and its cosmetics collection doesn't disappoint. Hot on value and obviously aiming at younger consumers, there's a good range of fix-it products (such as an eyebrow gel and a wide spectrum of concealers) and great, chrome-encased eyeshadow palettes - a steal at €5.75 for 10 colours. Other budget finds can be sourced in the excellent Barbara Daly make-up range for Tesco.
Stand-alone beauty stores in Dundrum include the Body Shop, Molton Brown (for heavenly handwashes and shampoos) and L'Occitane. The latter kicks off springtime with a Mediterranean range based on the enriched water that's extracted from olives while the oil is being collected - great for restoring radiance and protecting skin against free radicals.
Phase two of the centre - which opens in the autumn - will bring other exclusive cosmetics, including Ole Henriksen's divine product range and the big USA hit, Strivectin SD cream (plumps skin, targets wrinkles). But that's another story . . .