Devotees of Richard Lewis drew up to the doors of the Mercantile Bar and Grill on Dame Street in a flurry of excitement. The designer's new autumn/winter 2003 collection was about to be unveiled.
"It's Belle Epoque meets the East," said Lewis. His colours this year are dark maroon, dark bottle green, copper, indigo purple and black. The material featured is textured, he said, such as striped velvet and organza. Biba, the trendy London designer from the 1960s, was his inspiration, he said.
Artist Caroline O'Connor, with her daughter, Francesca O'Connor, home from teaching in Milan for three months, came with fellow artist Gay O'Neill to the show. They've been fans for "as long as we can remember", they said.
Anna O'Coinne, in a pink trouser suit with sequins, travelled from Galway with her friend, Cecily Coen from Gort, to attend the show.
Solicitor Jane Babb from Dublin, who got married earlier this year in Castle Durrow, Co Laois, in "a soft-white diaphanous gown" designed by Lewis, sang his praises as she sat beside her friend, Siobhán Feeney, from Easkey, Co Sligo.
The Leader of the Seanad, Mary O'Rourke, dressed in regal red, with her friend, Olive Braiden, newly-appointed chairwoman of the Arts Council, were looking out for their friend, Norma Smurfit, to join them. "We are three lovely lassies d'un certain age," said the impish O'Rourke with a Gallic shrug.
Sharon Bacon, who modelled for Lewis for many years, wore a cream jersey by the designer. "I think they [his designs] are timeless and elegant," she said. "They hide all the lumps and bumps and they transcend all occasions."