Style notes: Designer dresses at Brown Thomas, Laura Weber’s work on show at iconic First Ladies exhibition, and a vintage footwear collab

Our fashion editor rounds up the latest style news and fashion trends

Roksanda backless rose dress from the SS2023 designer collection at Brown Thomas. Picture: Leon Farrell

Clarks X Zara shoes with chunky crepe sole

Model Shuhan Yan wears a yellow Loewe dress at the Brown Thomas showcase. Picture: Leon Farrell

Erdem dress worn by Ami Jackson. Picture: Leon Farrell

Prada dress worn by Ami Jackson at Brown Thomas Spring Summer 2023 show.

Laura Weber’s long, quilted, sleeveless jacket, €380, from Anastasia Ranelagh

The coat worn by First Lady Jill Biden with intricate designs by Laura Weber

Roksanda backless rose dress from the SS2023 designer collection at Brown Thomas. Picture: Leon Farrell

Clarks X Zara shoes with chunky crepe sole

Model Shuhan Yan wears a yellow Loewe dress at the Brown Thomas showcase. Picture: Leon Farrell

Erdem dress worn by Ami Jackson. Picture: Leon Farrell

Prada dress worn by Ami Jackson at Brown Thomas Spring Summer 2023 show.

Laura Weber’s long, quilted, sleeveless jacket, €380, from Anastasia Ranelagh

The coat worn by First Lady Jill Biden with intricate designs by Laura Weber

Roksanda backless rose dress from the SS2023 designer collection at Brown Thomas. Picture: Leon Farrell

Bairbre Power Twitter Email

February 11 2023 02:30 AM

Is anyone surprised that dresses are far and away the best-performing category in the Brown Thomas Arnotts group at the moment? A new dress has the power to make you feel instantly fabulous, no matter what the occasion, with one new buy, and then you can pair it up with something existing in your wardrobe to help take the guilt away.

The recent new-season fashion showcase from Brown Thomas gave lots of clues as to what we can expect to see in the coming weeks and months. Floral doesn’t necessarily mean print — it can mean a giant 3D flower, such as the head-turning Roksanda backless rose dress. Like most of the high-end designer dresses in the show, it costs four figures, in this case €3,495.

Model Shuhan Yan wears a yellow Loewe dress at the Brown Thomas showcase. Picture: Leon Farrell

Irishman JW Anderson is creative director at Loewe, and its uber-feminine, bias-cut, yellow satin dress possesses that whiff of sophisticated sexiness, with a clever fall-down shoulder which never collapses fully because of a super narrow, barely seen spaghetti strap.

Hearts beat faster when a muted gold slip dress from Prada opened the show, but it was Erdem which left the lasting impression and closed the show. I spotted lots of straining of necks for the ‘Roisin’ dress in pleated voile. If you can, go in and check out the dreamy linen and silk, patchwork-effect, full-skirted dress from his runway show, which comes complete with conservation record label sewn on the front. It’s a real stunner. brownthomas.com

Erdem dress worn by Ami Jackson. Picture: Leon Farrell

First Lady style

Remember embroidery expert Laura Weber who was responsible for the embellishment on the day dress and coat worn by First Lady Jill Biden at the presidential inauguration at the White House in January 2021? Weber drew flowers from every US state and territory and embroidered them on to Dr Biden’s cashmere dress, silk/wool coat and her mask.

It was incredibly detailed work, and Weber, who comes from Rathfarnham in Dublin, decided on every bead placement, thread direction and colour for each stem, petal and leaf. She also embroidered the Benjamin Franklin quotation “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn” on the inside lining of the ivory coat, a nod to Dr Biden’s years as a teacher.

Last month, Weber got to see her work up close again when the outfit was handed over by Dr Biden to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. First Ladies typically donate their inaugural ball gowns to the Smithsonian Institution. There are 10 ball gowns from previous First Ladies in its collection, but because of the pandemic, Dr Biden didn’t wear a gown and decided to donate her day outfit with Weber’s all-important handiwork to the museum group instead.

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The coat worn by First Lady Jill Biden with intricate designs by Laura Weber

Because the event happened during the pandemic, and the historic nature of Joe Biden’s swearing-in, the matching face mask is like a snapshot in time and is also part of The First Ladies Collection on view at the National Museum of American History.

Weber attended the handing-over ceremony, alongside Gabriela Hearst, the designer who commissioned her to do the intricate work.

A visit to the museum is something you might consider if on holidays in Washington. You can view the one-shouldered, white, silk chiffon Jason Wu gown worn by Michelle Obama to her husband Barack Obama’s inauguration ball in 2009.

The First Ladies exhibition also includes Jackie Kennedy’s 1961 sleeveless inauguration gown in off-white silk chiffon with a strapless bodice embroidered with silver threads. While Ethel Frankau of Bergdorf Goodman’s Custom Salon designed and made the dress, it was based on sketches and suggestions from Kennedy, and it was around then that the first clues as to her long-lasting style-icon status were emerging.

Laura Weber’s long, quilted, sleeveless jacket, €380, from Anastasia Ranelagh

For Weber, having a part to play in a presidential inauguration in the country where she now lives with her husband was memorable. Around that time, she launched an athleisurewear collection, which you can buy at Anastasia Boutique in Ranelagh. The navy pieces include a knit jumper with 15pc cashmere and 85pc silk (€240); sweatshirt in 100pc cotton (€270); long, quilted sleeveless jacket (€380, left); and pleated skirt in 100pc cotton voile (€390). anastasiashop.com

Vintage shoe styles

It’s high time I ditched the leather winter boots. I’ve been on the lookout for a while, and I think the new Clarks X Zara collab looks interesting, colourful and close to the ground for comfort.

Clarks X Zara shoes with chunky crepe sole

Zara has partnered with Clarks to launch a new edition of the English brand’s iconic Wallabee model, updated thanks to a chunky crepe sole, and with prices from €199 for adults. There are also desert boots made of soft nubuck leather, and the kids’ version starts at €99. Ideal for the incoming confirmation and communion season. zara.com/ie