With his open-neck shirt, jacket thrown casually over his shoulders and breezy bonhomie, Godfrey Deeny is a recognisable figure every year at the international fashion collections in London, Paris, Milan and New York.
The former Clongowes star debater is European editor of Fashion Wire Daily, a news service "devoted to fashion, style and celebrities". He has moved from news and financial reporting in Italy in the l980s, to the front line of global fashion. Next week he will be in Dublin to give a talk during Fashion Week.
Deeny is one of a handful of journalists who report and comment on all the women's and menswear shows, the haute couture as well as the business and social aspects of the industry. He attends hundreds of catwalk presentations and product launches annually, partying and checking out hip new restaurants and night clubs along the way.
"But I love all that", he says. On first-name terms with Giorgio Armani, Miucca Prada and other mega millionaires, he admits to a childish love of being in fashion's inner circle and "permanently fascinated" by the people he meets. He's been a dinner guest of Armani's on his 160ft-yacht in the Mediterranean.
Does he meet many Irish people in the business? "I know there are a lot of Irish working as second assistants in Paris and Milan, but I don't meet second assistants generally," he says with the hauteur of one interested only in the premier league. But his boastfulness is more endearing than irritating.
The son of a Lurgan GP, he holds an honours degree in economics and social science from TCD, a master's degree in political economics from New York and began his career as a reporter for AP and Dow Jones in Italy before becoming Paris bureau chief of Fairchild Publications, publishers of Women's Wear Daily. He also lectures in Moscow University on fashion media.
"Paris is by far the dominant player and bigger than ever," says Deeny, who lives in Paris with his wife, Loanna Haseltine, a designer from Alaska. "London comes up with designers but when they get good, they leave. The English are so insular and get so excited about reality shows and local aristos that mean nothing in international fashion."
Fashion for him is one of the world's great crossroads. "Everybody wants a part of it. Architects want commissions to design shops, celebrities, rock stars want to be dressed by designers. It's a creative nexus. And there is a certain moment in a show when everything comes together and an artistic statement is made about where women are today. Everybody is obsessed by fashion and its ability to create images. An iconic image says more about the period, than any photojournalism or portraiture."
The fashion world is very hierarchical. It has a pecking order, he says. Seating arrangements reflect that order and if he's not in the front row, he doesn't go to shows.
As for Irish fashion, people such as John Rocha, in his opinion, have put Ireland on the map. "Lainey Keogh gave the skilled artisan thing an Irish voice while Philip Treacy had a big influence." But he believes the best designer from Ireland at present is fellow Northerner Sharon Wauchob.
"She has it. Her work has grown and her aesthetic is all her own."
Ask him about trends, and he rattles out a list of certainties. "It's all about shape now. Everybody is wearing leggings this fall because they pare down the silhouette and make it easier to wear the volume. The over-sexy look is finished.
"For me fashion in Ireland was big hats at horse races, but I think people in Dublin dress a lot better now and are more fashion conscious. If you go to the Pod or the Globe, kids look pretty hip to me."
But he also thinks Dublin has lost some of the character it had when he was at Trinity. "It was a bit more self mocking. Today's Irishmen puff out their chests more about their success which surprises me." - Deirdre McQuillan
Godfrey Deeny will talk on Fashion, Power and Money next Tuesday at 6.30pm in the Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephen's Green, as part of Dublin Fashion Week. Tickets €5 at the door