Making the cut

SITTING front row at a Joanne Hynes fashion show should require seat belts — to counter the creative whiplash on the runway.

Galway designer Hynes stirred things up at London Fashion Week this year. Joining veterans like Paul Costelloe and John Rocha, and newcomers J W Anderson and Simone Rocha, Hynes’ presence on international catwalks has made being Irish a cool commodity.

Having graduated with an MA from London’s prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College in 2001, Hynes launched her label in 2003, with a one-off line for Topshop in 2005. Plaudits followed from Brown Thomas, which crowned her ‘Irish designer of the season’ in 2006; her design won Harper’s Bazaar’s ‘bag of the season’ in 2007. Though she has an illustrious client list including supermodel Jacquetta Wheeler, singer PJ Harvey and socialite Daphne Guinness, this year should be a whirlwind for Hynes. (Irish clients include: actress Amy Huberman, RTE weather woman Jean Byrne, singer/songwriters Roisin Murphy and Sharon Corr.)