A big, yellow ESB van is pulling away from Number 50 North Great George's Street just minutes before haute-couture designer Jen Kelly's show is due to begin. The multi-coloured gas lamps on the outside of his striking Georgian home are alight and all looks calm inside. Panic had struck that afternoon when the electricity went in the midst of preparations for the Derry-born designer's show. It's an intimate and glamorous affair attended by serious fashion lovers. The champagne is flowing and the clients are admiring Jen's home-in-progess as much as the clothes. Designer of the Riverdance costumes, Jen Kelly helped dress Mary Robin- son during her presidency: the look tonight is 1950s Hollywood starlet. The show is introduced by Senator David Norris, a neighbour of Kelly's. The models strut from room to room, accompanied by the mellow tones of David Gray.
Moya Doherty is in the crowd, as is Deirdre Kelly, organiser of last weekend's Angels Quest Ball. Singer Leslie Dowdall is here with Jenny Turner; VIP fashion editor Emer O'Reilly-Hyland is checking out the bespoke tailoring while Celia Larkin has the a camera crew of RTE's Nationwide in tow.