Culture
12 Sep 23

Irish fashion designers to feature in new London fashion exhibition

Credit: The Design Musuem.

All known for pushing the boundaries of fashion, Irish designers JW Anderson, Simone Rocha and Sinead O'Dwyer will all present their work at the exhibition.

A new fashion exhibition centred around the last thirty years of London fashion is set to open this September, to coincide with the start of London Fashion Week. Sponsored by Alexander McQueen, Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion is a celebration of the British Fashion Council's NewGen programme, meant to promote and support young designers from around the UK.

Irish talent will be at the forefront of the exhibition, including works from designers JW Anderson, Simone Rocha and Sinead O'Dwyer. Each designer has left their mark on the fashion world, their collections breaking barriers and expectations.

One week until #RebelFashion opens ⚡

This landmark collaboration with @BFC, sponsored by @McQueen, is set to be one of the most compelling contemporary fashion exhibitions ever staged in the UK.

Tickets: https://t.co/OT87dbgwDy

📸 Louise Gray S/S 2011, Ian Gavan/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/p85wrlcdA7

— the Design Museum (@DesignMuseum) September 9, 2023

JW Anderson, originally from Derry, released a controversial, gender-defying menswear collection in 2013 that featured men in micro-ruffled shorts. Despite drawing negative attention from those outside of the fashion industry, the high fashion industry welcomed Anderson with open arms, and he became the new creative director of the luxury Spanish fashion house Loewe in the same year.

"Fashion isn't meant to make sense in the moment," said Anderson in response to the negative tabloids. "We're designing for the future."

Both from Dublin, Simone Rocha and Sinead O'Dwyer's pieces are also examples of rebellion within the fashion world.

Rocha's style follows a signature radical femininity that seamlessly weaves masculinity and femininity together, and has seen success across the fashion industry, even designing Billie Eilish's look for this year's Met Gala. Similarly progressive, O'Dwyer is celebrated for designing specifically for plus size models in her work, even developing a revolutionary new way of pattern cutting that benefits larger bodies.

Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion will be at London's Design Museum from 16 September to 11 February 2024. You can find more information here.