108 STORE
On a recent visit to New York, I came across a really alluring shop on Duane Street in Tribeca called 180The Store. A former dairy distribution warehouse from the 1860s, 108 was founded two years ago by a publicist called Denise Williamson as both a retail and event space with more than 30 interesting and beautifully crafted ranges sourced from all over the world, primarily Japan, France, India and Spain. With floral displays at the entrance, it is immediately enticing and its mix of clothing, accessories, furnishings and pottery, many of them cult brands, have all been selected by a stylish eye. Find it online at 180thestore.com
SWALLOW THIS
Industrial-style workwear characterises the latest collection from The Tweed Project in Galway with its boilersuits, workwear jackets and pants in deep blue linen woven by Molloys in Donegal. Aoibheann MacNamara and Triona Lillis, who are known for their innovative ways with tweed and their work with Molloys, now turn their hands to linen with an intentional dark denim appearance.
The latest campaign was shot on a secret beach outside Spiddal and echoes their commitment to playing with gender as both sexes wear the same clothes. The whole collection took its inspiration from the inky blue feathers of swallows which return to Ireland every summer. Find the clothes in their studio in Galway, by appointment only. Text 087 2368648 for an appointment.
THE CONNORS HIT NEW YORK
Two accessory designers, both called O Connor, but not related, met at a ceremony at the Meath Style Awards and struck up a collaboration, a joint sales venture in New York with the support of Meath Economics and Enterprise Team. Clare O Connor won a fashion innovation award at the Golden Egg awards in Galway for her flamboyant scarves and was then a finalist in the Best New Business at the Meath Style Awards where she met another finalist, Carol O Connor, whose innovative Postcards hairbands are made with her own printed fabrics.
Both discovered a joint background in art; Carol with a background as a professional artist and Clare with a background in graphic design and a degree in fine art who finetuned her experienced in Berlin and Venice. Both are hoping to connect with key buyers stateside with their new collections. Clareoconnor.net and caroloconnormillinery.ie
HUNTER GATHERER
To celebrate 35 years in business, Susan Hunter is having a birthday sale in her lingerie boutique in the Westbury Mall with 35 per cent off everything – bras, briefs, nightgowns, pyjamas, slippers, vests, stockings, corsets, slips. Some of the sale items include really beautiful bras and robes like the Andres Sarda sequin bras that were originally €140, now €91.
“Mark Zuckerberg was born the year we opened,” says Hunter, which is one way of appreciating her success in lasting so long being the only specialist lingerie shop in the city. Part of the shop’s allure is her bra-fitting service with sizes from 30” to 46”, A to J cup. Hunter also specialises in bridal lingerie and traditional lace-topped stockings with suspenders and though tiny, the shop has all the luxury labels like La Perla, Chantal Thomass, Luna di Seta and silk camisoles from the Carmel Brown Studio, an Irish label.
