This year Sans Pareil are taking you to the iconic iD Dunedin Fashion Week.

We have been lucky enough to get some exclusive interviews with some of the designers in this event.

Robecca Leyden chatted to Niamh Dobson –

I love the concept behind your ‘Eton Mess’ collection. Tell us a bit about what this means, and how you thought of it.

Eton Mess – My graduate collection, is a commentary on British society and how it operates. Back home, we have strict social cues and we often use clothing and other visual markers to define people, particularly based around class.

Through exploring the ‘Posh Boy’ archetype within the UK, I have created a collection which starts to unpick those social codes and explores the beauty within that.

What is your background in fashion, how did you get to be here?

I studied Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and graduated in May 2022. It was my tutor Robin, who reached out to me and told me to enter! Without him and the financial support that MMU offered me, I wouldn’t be here.

If you weren’t in fashion, what would you like to be doing? What was your childhood dream job?

My dream job was always working in Fashion – it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do!

What designers do you look up to?

As a child, I always looked up to the big houses and those at the helm of those brands. However, since moving to London and being surrounded by up and coming, authentic talent inspiration comes much closer to home.

To name a few, Patrick McDowell, Robyn Lynch and Richard Malone are designers I admire.

What have been your career highlights so far? I see you designed a collection for Liam Gallagher, that’s so cool!

As far as career highlights go, I’m lucky enough to say that there have been a few! 

Winning the Warner Bros x Selfridges design competition was one of them. The collection that myself and my sister Aoife collaborated on won and was produced and sold in selected Selfridges stores.

Another achievement within my career so far would have to be working for Patrick McDowell. Working for them as Design Assistant has been the biggest learning curve of my career, but by far has been the most rewarding!

What do you think is next in your fashion career? Any goals you can share?

A goal of mine is certainly to own a thriving brand. It’s important to me that I still work on shaping the commentary I began with Eton Mess around British culture and what it means to be a Brit today. 

With time, it is my hope that this brand will not only be a sustainable, successful business venture but that it will also help to sustain and support other up and coming creatives within the industry.