About Me
Hi, I'm Emily, a Fashion Design graduate from the University of Leeds.
Emily McIntyre is a Northern Irish designer specialising in luxury fashion. Her work draws upon Irish history both in the fashion and textiles industry in her first collection and it's rich mythological background in her second. She feels strongly about bringing the forgotten history of Ireland's creative industries into contemporary fashion.
Despite being such a small country Ireland has made many contributions to modern society and is largely unrecognised for it. I am proud of my country's achievements through all the hardships that Ireland has faced over the centuries. My final collection draws upon an amalgamation of sources such as 1960s Irish couture designer Sybil Connolly's work and my family's photo albums from the 1950s and 1960s. All fabrics for this collection were sourced from Ireland and Northern Ireland, using authentic wool tweed and linen in this seasonless couture womenswear collection.
INSPIRATION
Inspiration for this collection was initially derived from Irish couture techniques in the 1960s.
Whilst researching Ireland's fashion history I was surprised to learn that today's fashion industry would be very different without Ireland's contributions. For example, the first ready-made clothing factory was established in Limerick city in the 1800s helping to employ survivors of the Irish potato famine. By the early 1900s Ireland was one of the largest linen producers in the world. There was also a collective of couture designers in the 1960s including Sybil Connolly.
Sybil Connolly created her own pleating technique, as worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her official Whitehouse portrait. I was inspired by this technique to develop my own, in genuine Irish beetled linen from the last commercial linen beetlers in the world based in Northern Ireland. Paired with the linen pieces, I used Donegal tweed, and took inspiration from NI quilting traditions passed through generations, in a dress printed with family photographs including my grandparents wedding in 1961.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
INTRODUCTION TO THE COLLECTION
INNOVATION: REVIVING IRISH TEXTILE CRAFT
CONCEPT: REMINISCENT
BRAND: HOLLETT
DEVELOPMENT
DESIGNS
FLATS
OUTFITS
GHLAC SCÁTH É INTRODUCTION
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
CUSTOMER PROFILE
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPT
AN ISLE OF OLD ENCHANTMENT
FABRICS & COLOUR
FABRIC MANIPULATIONS
DRAPING
BLAZER MANIPULATION
DESIGNS
FLATS
DETAIL
I created my own pleating technique using two large rectangles of fabric and pleating by hand.
As this concept has a heavy focus on craft and hand finishings I wanted to create intricate pleats that took a lot of time and care to ensure that they were equal on either side. This technique also resulted in zero waste as I started with two equal rectangles and pleated it down to size and closed it at the back with a zip and straps. Another detail that I felt was important to incorporate was that of the embroidery in the tweed dress. The embroidery connecting the suspended pieces is inspired by Irish drawn threadworks techniques. I sewed along the warp and weft of the tweed continuing the natural aesthetic and created a woven style design.
"The culture of Ireland is in things like weaving, dyeing, coastal communities, and natural ways of farming. They’re experts, they need to be celebrated." - Richard Malone
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