Style Notes: New brands at Kildare Village and Inez and Paulie pops up at The Westbury Mall

How lovely then to put a spotlight on some chic summer alternatives that move seamlessly between workwear and relaxed, summer tailoring.

Two suits from French brand Claudie Pierlot stood out as super-useful buys at the recent spring-summer fashion show at Kildare Village.

It has added a few new names to its family of 120 brands since I was there last, so I had a quick look around Gant for men and women, Hackett, Millies make-up, and K-Way, the outdoor brand, which has now opened its first store in Ireland. It’s a French brand with a strong outdoorsy vibe and, if that’s your focus, do watch out for the arrival of Columbia at the Village later this month, with men’s and women’s clothing and shoes.

In a new development, many of the boutiques in the Village now offer a limited edit of current-season bestsellers available at full price, as well as specially curated collections with savings on the original retail price.

Current-season collections are available in almost 50 stores, including Sandro, Maje, Ba&sh, Mulberry, American Vintage, Longchamp, Claudie Pierlot and Hackett.

The two Pierlot suits I liked were in the new-season show styled by international stylist Tallulah Harlech. This diminutive lady is a true dynamo. Her CV also includes acting, writing for Vanity Fair and Vogue and she is also fashion editor at Pop magazine.

Tallulah has worked with Kildare Village alumni and Clare man Michael Stewart on his AW23 Standing Ground show at London Fashion Week.

With an expert eye for timeless buys, she opened my eyes to gems from Glenn Martens’s Diesel brand and she saluted the designer skills of Paul Costelloe. Lucky the woman who buys that red-velvet fishtail gown, but there are more of his runway pieces at Curated by Design Centre. thebicestercollection.com/kildare-village

Katie’s exceptional eye

I am fortunate to work with the very stylish Katie Byrne, a woman with a legendary eye for small details and the powerhouse behind the Dublin-based vintage couture brand Inez and Paulie.

The business is named after Katie’s niece and nephew and, this week, she is introducing her latest vintage finds to customers at an Inez and Paulie pop-up in The Westbury Mall until April 13.

There, you will find an impressive collection of vintage gems, including handbags, jewellery, sunglasses and footwear she has sourced from favourite labels like Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.

You can see how much Katie loves Gucci, and she has sourced lovely pieces from when Tom Ford was in the driving seat at the Italian brand between 1990 and 2005. They include a monogram handbag with bamboo chain (€750) and over-the-knee white canvas and leather boots (€450) from his SS04 collection.

For this pop-up, Katie has joined forces with luxury British womenswear brand Stoned & Waisted, which is selling its signature tailored shearling coats and ready-to-wear pieces. @inezandpaulie

Irish brands at Avoca

Avoca’s new ‘Irish Collective’ initiative puts a spotlight on the work of a number of fashion and homewear brands in its Kilmacanogue and Rathcoole stores.

This month, Aoife Mullane Design brings her coveted collections to the Rathcoole store, with hair accessories, tote bags and clutches priced from €16-€199. Aoife started out in interiors and moved seamlessly into fashion. Her recent hit has been her bows and bags, a favourite with both brides and wedding guests alike.

Chanel prize

Congratulations to Oona Doherty from Belfast, one of 10 winners in this year’s Chanel Next prize.

The couture fashion and perfume house started the global initiative in 2021 to accelerate the ideas that advance culture and support game-changing artists who are pushing the boundaries of their fields.

A choreographer working at the forefront of contemporary dance, Oona’s work has been performed globally for over a decade, and she and the other nine winners will each receive €100k to allow them to fully realise their most ambitious artistic projects.