That new Dundrum Town Centre is so cool even the car park is hip.
To prove it, the 11 finalists for the Nokia Young Fashion Designer Award had their day, well, not in the sun, but in car-park gloom glammed up with orange and blue lighting, to bid for first prize.
The work of the finalists - Orla Bass, Allison Conneely, Suzanne Gregan, Mary Claire Kirwan,Mairead Lee, John McCormack, Hannah Mullan, Joanne de Paor, Emma Sheridan, Avril Smith and Sarah Verdon - joined presentations by designers John Rocha, Peter O'Brien and Joanne Hynes.
John McCormack, the big winner of the evening, turned away from a degree in history and geography and his job with Hibernian to go back to college and study design.
"I wasn't a nine-to-five person," he admitted. McCormack received a first prize of €5,000 and a Nokia fashion phone. His parents, Noreen and John McCormack, were there to cheer him on.
"John was always a free spirit," his father said proudly. They had always encouraged him in his interest, added Noreen. But had she benefited from her son's occupation? "He made me a lovely pair of trousers and a cowl-neck top," she said. Who wouldn't want a son like that?
One of the judges, Peter O'Brien, had been putting his interest in Dior's 1950s New Look to practical use: he is designing the costumes for the Gate's upcoming production of Lady Windermere's Fan.
"I'm always interested in students' work," he said. "They haven't had to contend with the hideous realities of the marketplace yet, so they can let their imaginations run wild."
Designer John Rocha said it was "great to be involved with young talent - it just makes me work harder".