A young designer from Loughrea has scooped the prestigious Jewellery Designer of the Year Award at the Fashion Innovation Awards, which were held in Galway recently.
Twenty-four-year-old Colette Porter wowed the audience at the event with her inspirational pieces. A native of Loughrea, she had an interest in fashion from a young age and completed a degree in textile design. She has been studying textile and fashion design for the last six years and has attended three different colleges. To date she has exhibited in Ireland and Europe. Ms Porter’s main inspiration for her award-winning piece was the multi-cultural society that exists in Galway. “How us Irish are naturally connecting with the many different nationalities within our population today inspired me,” she said. “I am working with the idea of multiples of the same shape and interconnecting each unit to create a playful and funky singular form.”
The Fashion Innovation Awards were held in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway, to honour the work of new and innovative Irish fashion designers north and south. The judging panel included some of the most respected names in the Irish fashion industry including fashion guru Eddie Shanahan, Irish Times fashion editor Deirdre McQuillan, and TG4’s Paisean Faisean presenter Blathnaid Ni Dhonnchadha. A total of 33 designers showcased their creations and battled it out for awards in their individual categories.
