Group show serves up a banquet of fashion

It's either a feast or a famine with fashion

It's either a feast or a famine with fashion. But 19 Irish designers from the Design Centre, in Powerscourt Town House, who showed their collections en masse in the Royal College of Physicians, certainly add up to a banquet. What marks this group out is its courage to push design just that bit farther than mainstream designers would dare to do.

This was not the most original show, however, with some like Deirdre Fitzgerald, the knitwear designer, and Mary Grant revamping floating layers in a way that has been done too often.

But Claire Garvey cast caution aside and turned out some weird fringed evening wear mixing velvets, silks and lace. There is a huge amount of work in these, but they do look a bit self-consciously contrived, though very original. A fringed coat (£799), velvet sheath dress (£225) and handembroidered stole (£165) are wonderful in their way.

Of course it isn't all like that. Louise Kennedy leads the way with superb tailoring in a black leather, scarlet wool and velvet group, simple shapes, very slimlined. Plain dresses are brightened by adding patterned velvet jackets, short coats are worn with leather trousers, dead plain black sheaths glamorise evenings. It's sophisticated.

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But there was good, sharp dressing from David Thomas and Deborah Veale: Thomas took on the 1930s with long-skirted suits, and Veale said everything there is to be said about city chic in black.

With 19 designers grouped like this it is always surprising how they seem to complement one another. If you like the clothes in the Design Centre then you have a marvellous choice.