Young Designer of the Year – Who are the Judges?
Written by Laura Webb on September 7, 2017. Posted in Activities Fashion Festival Young Designer Of The Year The Young Designer of the Year is a great way for emerging Irish designers to showcase their talent to the public and industry elites.
Unfortunately there can only be one winner and the hard task of choosing that talented designer is put upon a panel of 7 judges.
Want to know who they are?
Coming from all walks of fashion life, the judges are kind of a big deal in the world of style and design!
Irish Independent’s Fashion Editor, Bairbre Power (Head Judge)
TV3 Xpose Series Producer, Debbie O’Donnell
Arnotts Head of Personal Shopping, Clara Halpin
Owner of the Design Centre in Powerscourt Townhouse, Ashling Kilduff
Renowned Fashion Photographer, Barry McCall
Brown Thomas Personal Shopping Manager, Katie McGrath
Evoke.ie editor, Sybil Mulcahy.
How do they judge the finalists?
DublinTown received 60 entries from emerging designers from colleges all over the country and even some international entrants. Their design applications are primarily assessed by Head Judge Bairbre Power who narrows the entries down to the top 20. Once chosen, the semi-finalists display their design in the Westbury Hotel off Grafton St where the full panel of judges spend the day assessing and evaluating before choosing the final 12. The garment judging process includes the assessment of quality of construction, general appearance, overall creativity and the ability to design for varied markets.
The lucky finalists will be given the chance to showcase their design on the catwalk during Dublin Fashion: The Collective – on Friday September 22nd in The Round Room at The Mansion House on Dawson St. Their designs are always worn by top Irish models who strut their stuff in front of fashion’s most influential people including media’s top journalists and online influencers.
When is the winner announced?
During this major fashion event on Sept 22, the judges will see how each finalists design is worn and carried along the catwalk. After all 12 designs are shown, judges will then deliberate before making their final design and announcing the Young Designer of The Year 2017! So best of luck to everyone involved.
Last year’s winner (see below) was JJ Donnelly. She will return to the runway to remind people why she was crowned winner last year when her designs will feature during the show. This is an invite only event but there will be a chance for the public to win tickets so keep an eye out for this on our social media platforms @DublinTown and @DublinFashion
