Dublin’s independent fashion scene takes centre stage

Dublin will become a city-wide catwalk this week as designers, models, makers and fashion students take over venues across the capital.

Dublin Independent Fashion Week runs from today, Thursday, September 10, to Wednesday, September 16, with more than 40 events showcasing the creativity and ambition driving contemporary Irish fashion.

The programme will bring fashion far beyond the conventional runway, combining collective shows with exhibitions, installations, workshops, dance, poetry, networking events, coffee mornings and afterparties.

Now four years old, Dublin Independent Fashion Week is a designer-led platform and registered nonprofit established to support Irish fashion and help designers build sustainable businesses.

It also operates a talent directory and membership programme and advocates for fashion to be recognised as a fundable art form.

At the heart of its work is a determination to make contemporary Irish design and craft accessible to a wider audience.

“We are so excited for this year’s Dublin Independent Fashion Week” Jason Andres, the festival’s brand and socials director, told Dublin People.

“We have over 40 events throughout the week, we keep getting bigger every year!

“Dublin Independent Fashion Week was founded in 2023 by a group of designers who recognised a gap in Ireland’s fashion landscape: the lack of an accessible, independent platform dedicated to supporting homegrown talent.

“Built by volunteers, DIFW was created to give designers opportunities to showcase their work, connect with new audiences, and build sustainable careers on their own terms.

“What began as a grassroots initiative has grown into a week-long programme of runway shows, exhibitions, workshops, and community-led events.”

The festival begins in suitably dramatic fashion at one of the capital’s most historic buildings.

POSTMARKED, the opening event at the GPO tonight, Thursday, September 10, will transform the building into a choreographed fashion experience inspired by the rituals and visual language of the post office.

Instead of following a conventional runway, models wearing 60 signature looks from emerging and established Irish designers will move through the GPO in carefully choreographed groups.

They will eventually arrive at the building’s historic postal counters for photography.

The event will bring Irish heritage and contemporary culture together while celebrating the designers helping to establish fashion as one of the country’s most distinctive cultural exports.

Among the 40 separate events this week, these caught our eye:

Chloe Cooke Design x Cž Mara First Collection Display

Wednesday 16 September

17:30 21:30

The Fumbally Stables

Come to the Fumbally Stables to celebrate the outstanding work of emerging Irish Fashion Design Students. Chloe Cooke Design and Cú Mara will show their first collection of work as part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week.

Both are going into their final year from the highly accredited Grafton Academy of Fashion.

Chloe and Cornelia, would love to share their journey as students and use the display as a way to shine light on the future talent that is come in Dublin.

The evening is an opportunity for people to have a look around,enjoy the space and appreciate textile work and functional fashion.

The Designer Edit with Claire Garvey

Sunday 13 September 2026

10:15 18:00

NYX Christchurch

A full-day live fashion experience taking you from concept to finished piece and how to style it.

Presented by Eko Model Management in collaboration with The Charisma Coach, the day brings emerging and established designers, models, stylists, content creators and students together around design, creativity, personal development and industry connection.

Keynote designer Claire Garvey, renowned for intricate, hand-crafted wearable art, with credits spanning the Oscars, Cannes, New York and London Fashion Weeks and Junk Kouture, opens her creative process live. Bring materials you’d otherwise throw away: Claire guides you through making your own sustainable wearable art. A styling and colour analysis session then shows you how to wear it and anything else in your wardrobe.

This isn’t a lecture. You participate, create, collaborate, network and build real skills, leaving with practical knowledge, industry insight and connections inside Ireland’s fashion and creative community.

Sculpted by Madeleine Blaine Studio

Friday September 11

18:00 20:00

The Collective Dublin

An Evening of Wearable Form is an intimate in-store event at The Collective, celebrating the relationship between jewellery, fashion and sculpture as part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week.

The evening will centre around Madeleine Blaine’s sculptural jewellery, giving guests an insight into the inspiration, craftsmanship and creative process behind the collection. Hand-carved wax forms, tools, process imagery and finished pieces will show how each design develops from an initial idea into wearable sculpture.

Madeleine will be present throughout the evening to share the stories behind her work and discuss her approach to design.

Two independent fashion designers @chloecookdesigns @ode.to.mna will also showcase their work, with models wearing their designs alongside Madeleine’s jewellery.

Together, the collections will explore how jewellery and clothing interact with shape, texture, movement and the body.

Presented in a relaxed, gallery-inspired setting, SCULPTED brings together independent designers to celebrate craftsmanship, creativity and considered design within Dublin’s independent fashion community.