Fashion is a fickle business, but past winners of the Irish Heart Foundation fashion awards have gone from strength to strength. Deirdre McQuillan caught up with them in advance of this year's 10th anniversary competition, at which they showed their current collections alongside this year's finalists
CYANE KINGSTON 1997
"I had recently completed a Fás course and had just set up my own studio when I won the inaugural award, in l997. There were three outfits: a dress based on a poppy and decorated with laminated silk poppies, and another with laminated irises; the third item was a white linen suit with a dahlia-laminated T-shirt underneath. Winning was good, because I didn't go to college and it was like a passing-out parade for me. It was a confidence boost and confirmation that I was a designer. Now I work with clients to commission, from my studio, which I love. I don't copy or work from patterns but create my own designs in consultation with the client. My style is quite plain and structured, and I'm known for well-cut, flattering trousers, jackets and partywear."
LIAM GRIER 1998
"The year I won, I had received several awards, including an honours degree in fashion design from LSAD, the RTÉ Young Designer of the Year and the Heineken Colour in Your Life awards, and I was preparing to start my own label. It was the perfect launch pad - a number of outlets stocked my label on the strength of winning that competition. Plus, the publicity helped no end. Competitions such as this encourage students to be more competitive, and you tend to see some fantastic work that would otherwise never see the light of day. I remained in Limerick, manufacturing my own label there until 2001, then relocated to Co Donegal, where I now have my own design studio (www.liamgrier.net), making figure-conscious knitted womenswear, including cardigans, dresses, coats and separates."
GRAINNE WALSH 1999
"My winning collection was in black linen with silver detailing and was very much completed at the last minute. I was freelancing at the time, having graduated from NCAD earlier, and then spent a few years in the US and Canada. The prize was generous, and winning it was brilliant and unexpected. I remember going on my own to the event because I never expected to win. It did wonders for my confidence. Since then I have been freelancing, working for the past four years for Kilkenny Design, and now for Dunnes Stores. I have smaller jobs, too, such as helping to set up labels and organising production. And I also do renovations of old houses - it's all about design and pleasing the eye, and it keeps a balance in my life. I can juggle the two."
KIRWAN & TUCHOLSKI 2000
Kirwan's whereabouts are unknown. Tucholski has changed direction and works with a Swedish internet company in London. "I graduated from LSAD in 1997 and basically spent the next five years in fashion. We had been self-employed and had set up our own label after I returned from two years in New York. The award came at a time when things were tough, but it gave me the spur to keep going. We had parted around the time of the competition, and I carried on for a year before shutting the business down. It is tough being self-employed in Ireland, and I felt it wasn't sustainable in the long term. I was getting interested in the internet area, so I studied at night to get a diploma in internet technology, and I now work in London, in technology marketing, facilitating online marketing. It is a very dynamic industry, and I am very happy. Fashion competitions are important, because they give encouragement and financial help in an industry where it takes a lot to succeed."
JOANNE CRIBBEN 2001
"I started dressmaking at the age of 17 and ran a dressmaking business in Naas. I did a night course at the Grafton Academy and afterwards worked with John Rocha for a few seasons, and then tried to get work in Paris, but without success. When I entered the competition I was about to pack it in, because I was fed up struggling. Winning it meant I could carry on. I put the money in the credit union. Peter O'Brien, one of the judges, said I had claws and would stay in the business. I never before got such praise or opportunity to show my clothes. From there I started my own label, Joanne London, and London is where I sell my collection. Business is going well, and even though it is tough I love what I do. I was a runner-up again in 2003."
CLARE O'CONNOR 2002
"I had just finished at the Grafton Academy and was working with Jen Kelly when I entered the competition. The money was the main thing; it helped to get my label off the ground, along with the recognition. I am currently working full-time on my own label, selling in three shops as well as doing a lot of wedding dresses and private commissions. My winning items were all about fabric manipulation and knitted taffetas, but my style now is quite classic and very feminine. I am happy with the way things are going and think that competitions are good for seeing what you are up against, and what everybody else is doing. They are also useful for meeting people in the industry."
THERESE McKEONE 2003
"I had just finished in the Grafton Academy when I entered a silk skirt with white pleated top, a black organza see-through 1950s dress and a cream pleated skirt with a cream cashmere jumper. Winning meant a huge amount; it helped me to get my first collection together, and things developed from there. I sold in Cow's Lane about a week later, and I started to build up a customer base. I am still designing and also doing costume design for a number of theatre projects. I sell my collections from my studio, on Dame Street in Dublin, and in New York, in a shop in the Upper West Side. People can buy off the rails or order directly from me."
COLETTE MOORE 2004
"Winning was a brilliant boost for me. I had been working for Castle of Ireland when I entered the competition, and though it was a good experience I wanted to get back into the high-end market. Winning helped me to make that move. I used the money to fund a course in creative pattern cutting in St Martins, in London, which I completed last September. I am now working in London with the designers Sinha Stanic, on their fourth collection, and loving every minute of it. Coming back with a collection for the 10th anniversary was a great project for me, one that keeps my portfolio fresh. Winning such a competition always looks great on the CV."
PEARL JOHNSTON 2005
"A lot of doors opened for me when I won the award. The Ulster Museum bought three pieces from the collection, a high-waisted pencil skirt in wool, a silk blouse with ribbon and lace details, and a draped cape. I graduated from the University of Ulster in Belfast and went to New York for four years, doing life-drawing classes at night. But getting a job in fashion there was too hard, so I came home to Donegal. I now design two collections a year that are sold in the Design Centre in Dublin, and I also have interest from other outlets who want to sell it. My style is quite tailored with small surface details. What I really enjoy is pattern cutting."