Fox fur, hand-beaded lace, ostrich plumes, and just a hint of the boudoir make Jen Kelly's latest haute couture a tour de force.
The scene was set and all revealed at a show in the designer's house in North Great George's Street, Dublin. It is a building in a glorious state of near restoration, and the atmosphere was in perfect accord with the clothes.
This is real glamour (nothing less than £1,000, but one shouldn't talk of that sort of thing) with most of the living done at night under chandeliers of a hundred candles.
A daytime suit, in silk shantung with blond mink collar, might get her out of bed for luncheon in . . . well, wherever.
It is a sexy collection - snakeskin boots with a purple velvet frock coat, a lame and silk organza jacket with fox-fur sleeves, worn with a black hand-beaded French lace dress and a Cossack fur hat with a half-veil. It suddenly seems a pity it's not all part of a big movie.
Of course, the designer often makes for stars of the stage, screen and the music world, and one of his loves is the opera. But for his clients, it is all done with subtlety.
If black runs throughout the collection, gilded fabrics (not glitzy gold) are often used. Examples include the shell-draped, bias-cut, satin dress, with the luxurious fabric used inside out to give a sensuous feel against the skin and a more muted look.
Fox and mink from Bernardo's, which goes back almost as long as number 50 North Great George's Street, give a look of luxuriousness, while ostrich feathers, trimming evening velvets, enforce the extravagant mood.
None of this, however, is too obviously stated. The designer thinks the style is Bohemian, and likes the idea of a fox-trimmed silken coat being worn with jeans or silken soft leather jackets turning up over evening dresses. Black leather is a strong theme, and includes several fitted skirted suits.
The clothes are made individually and while the designer has strong ideas of his own, he likes working with clients. Together they get it right, and make magic, but, it has to be said, the Diva keeps appearing. And it's marvellous when it does.
A highly creative collection: Jen Kelly gilds without gilt and is now in a particularly happy working mood.