Here come the skinny jean attired clowns…

4/5

Fashion and fantasy collided at this year’s DCU Fashion Show, Cirque du Couture. Appropriately taking place on April Fools’ Day, clowns and trickery proved to be at the heart of the spectacle. BT2, Penneys, Topshop, Fran and Jane, Topman, Louis Copeland and A-wear were all represented, with street-wear playing a prominent role throughout.

Collections were appropriate, wearable and not overly high end. Bright colours and print of all types were the main female trends on show, while denim in all its forms featured strongly for the men.

The show opened strongly and captured the frenzy of the circus as the ringmaster screamed his welcome “to the most amazing show on earth” and models skulked moodily around large cages. Dramatic choreography throughout displayed the clothes well. The models never abandoned their deliberately haughty characters as they emphasised the circus theme by pretending to walk a tightrope and act like stiff wooden puppets.

Female catfights with the queen bee fending off imitations worked well, as did performances from aerial contortionists and jugglers. The strongest routine was the enactment of several love triangles to the sultry tones of The Pierces’ Secret. Another crowd favourite was the energetic posing and vitality of both clothes and models during the Urban Outfitters section of the show.

Music selection was impressive and stylish with a soundtrack including Muse, Ladyhawke and MGMT. However timing of music was a little off at times – at one point several models were left stranded in total silence at the top of the catwalk when the soundtrack cut off too soon. Other technical aspects were strong though. Lighting and set were in theme, while the distorted backdrop imaging was visually impressive.

The presenting duo of TG4’s Eoghan McDermott and MTV’s Laura Whitmore shared strong chemistry, but while the former was naturally witty, the latter seemed to try a little too hard at times. Announcement of the interval by the presenters should not have been overlooked.

Grafton Academy’s Sean Byrne took the Young Designer of the Year of the year award, his body con black dresses emblazoned with oversized satin frills in primary colours. His designs, inspired by 1900’s Parisian couture, are set to feature in an upcoming Image magazine spread.

Female hair was a definite highlight, with wild backcombing, crimping and quiffs dominating proceedings.

Makeup was strong with pale skin, glitter, dark lips and black smudged eyes capturing the circus aspect powerfully while still allowing the clothes to take centre stage.

However, several minor problems detracted somewhat from the night: tags protruding from clothes proved to be a recurring issue and goody bags were disappointing.

Despite this, StyleSoc managed to maintain the high standard of the event for yet another year.