Six Questions with Sarah Murphy, Kerry Fashion Week Winner 2016

Sarah Murphy, a fashion design student, recently won the prestigious Kerry Fashion Week ‘Student Designer of the Year’ and is now preparing for the DIT Fashion Show this coming Tuesday. Ahead of the DIT Fashion Show, we sat down with Sarah to learn about her influences and her experience of fashion in and out of college.

On choosing to study fashion...

I chose to study fashion design at Griffith College because it offered both the creative and the practical side to fashion design. The course gives you a grounding in the business side of fashion which was important to me as I would like to eventually set up my own label.

On her experience studying fashion...

Studying fashion is a lot of hard work and all nighters, but it’s also great fun and allows you to be completely creative. It's all worth it when you see your finished designs being worn by someone. 

On her design influences...

I am very influenced by traditional crafts, things that, to most people, may seem old fashioned. I am really interested in putting a modern spin on them and making the desirable to be worn today. I really admire designers like Sibling, Simone Rocha and Delpozo for their use of fabrics and for the way they make sort of ugly things beautiful. 

On her creative process...

When it comes to designing, I tend to head straight for fabrics and yarns and sample up ideas for garments. I've always thought in pictures rather than words so I really enjoy designing as it’s a mostly visual and tactile process. 

On her experience at Kerry Fashion Week...

The competitions are always great fun and you get to meet lots of people. After winning Kerry Fashion Week I was also approached to have a capsule collection sold in two boutiques.

On her outfits...

The outfits for Kerry Fashion Week were from my 2nd year collection and made from a silicone coated knit. This gave the traditional knit and crochet a more modern feel and also allowed me to create more structural shapes that normally cannot be achieved with knitwear.

The outfit for the DIT Fashion Show is from this year's graduate collection, called "The Promised Land" and was inspired by a utopian vision for the Middle East. I explored traditional craft methods but with a contemporary edge.

We would like to wish Sarah the best of luck with the D.I.T. Fashion Show on Tuesday!