If you’ve ever stumbled home through any city centre on St. Paddy’s Day, you’d have been inundated with shamrocks, leprechauns, and a swarm of Guinness harps. For her latest collection, menswear maven Robyn Lynch delved into the stereotypical insignias which surround her native Ireland, cheekily twisting each into badges of honour.
“How can someone know your Irish without saying that you’re Irish?” asked the designer, who is up for this year’s International Woolmark Prize. Tasked with creating a collection around the theme of ‘dialogue’, Lynch set about “celebrating Irish culture without screaming about it”. Her love letter to the Emerald Isle began with four shades of green – pale pistachio, lizard green, deep sage and phthalo green – making up the entire offering, which included waved-knit twinsets and her signature Aran knits which spilled into hybrid track jackets.
Marino wool has been a pillar of Lynch’s brand since she joined Fashion East in AW19. With Woolmark’s backing, she’s been able to geek out on the fabric’s capabilities – from its capacity to absorb UV radiation to the fact it’s 100% biodegradable. Knockouts included a Marino jacquard jumper which nodded to Irish folk dance Céilí, laddish hoodies and trackies which came fashioned from a nylon-like fabric that is predominantly wool based.
Lynch has struck a winning balance between narrative-based storytelling, fabric innovation and seriously shoppable product. It’s only a matter of time a major sportswear giant taps into her brilliance.
Photography courtesy of Robyn Lynch.
