ALICEHALLIDAY

Winning collection- 'Cork Fashion Week Designer of The Year Award 2011' "... from all the designers, the winner, for me at least, did ultimately stand out from the rest. 'Designer of the Year' was awarded to Alice Halliday for her magnificant 'Tea with Tamara'  collection. Ultimately, it was Alice's creative flair, her extreme attention to detail and the quality of her work that sealed the deal. Also, her collection 'came together' very well and for me personally had just the right balance of 'old world' elegance and contemporary design to win me over. I felt I couldnt take my eyes off her collection as it sashayed past me on the runway and I was really left wanting to see even more! ...This was a name to watch." -Liz Greehy, editor, stylebible.ie I was influenced by a beautifully presented exhibition in the V&A last winter called Diaghilev, he was the founder of the Ballets Russes. It was from there that I took ideas from the glittering, chandelier-like costumes of ballerina Tamara Karsavina. The intricate detailing; feather, bead and crystal embellishments were very inspiring as were the silhouettes, which were a combination of geometric and organic shapes. I wanted to keep my colour palette quite simple and tonal, so I took the shades from the old sepia and black and white photos of Tamara; tea, coffee, cream, white, gold with hints of mint, nude, blue-green and navy. The photos looked tea-stained so this sparked the idea of using table cloths, doilies and other things one might find in an opulent tea-room. Table runners, bits of lace curtain, upholstery trimmings, curtain tassle ties and picture hooks all came in handy. I even used a tea cup, saucers and the left over chandelier as accessories. Photography: Michael O'Sullivan, Hair and Makeup: Rosa O, Models: Ciara Allen from Pulse Models (brunette) Susan Cox (red) Serena Lee (light brown) Location: The Crane Lane Theatre, Cork City, Ireland