Robyn Lynch: AW24
Family is the greatest source of inspiration for Robyn Lynch. Whether it’s digging into her father’s wardrobe or rifling through home video footage, the designer takes each collection as an opportunity to explore personal nostalgia. This season, the spotlight turns to her younger sister Adrianna, a professional Irish dancer. “I vividly remember all these weekends spent in sports halls at competitions, seeing the glitz and the drama that happened on and off stage,” Robyn says, reminiscing on her colourful snapshots of Fèis, the Gaelic dance championships. High kicks, spangled costumes and passionate spectators – it’s the culture and rituals which surround Fèis that became Robyn’s core point of exploration.
As both a sport and an art form, Irish dancing merges elements of high camp and endurance which initially came through in Robyn’s choice of textiles for AW24. “I loved the contrasting feeling of a rich, abstract devoré against our recycled nylons. So this tension of pragmatic versus decorative became a through line in the process,” the designer explains. In a playful nod to her sister’s stage wardrobe, celtic knots and monogram embroidery appear layered over classic outdoors trousers in the form of dancing skirts crafted with John Carey Design, a heritage artisan known for their Irish dance costumes.
The dichotomy heightens in a special collaboration with C.P. Company, as Robyn reimagines and upcycles outerwear pieces from the Italian sportswear brand’s past collections into a capsule of one-off designs. Known for infusing her own perspective into storied labels, she focused on embellishing functionality without losing the performance aspect of the clothes. “It was really fascinating to take apart the garments and learn about their impressive construction, the detailing, the finishings – all of these elements definitely influenced the way I design myself. I considered the purpose of each item of clothing and its various parts,” Robyn says. “A perfect example is the C.P. Company Goggle Jacket,” she adds, acknowledging the signature outerwear design that was initially created for the legendary Mille Miglia car race back in 1988. The original C.P. Company pieces are remixed through a process that includes tightening the silhouettes, building layers of knitwear into the garments as well as repurposing original fastenings and hardware. The classic goggles are also newly embossed with the Robyn Lynch logo.
The inception of this season’s colour story came from a custom map print of Éire imagined by art director and Robyn’s regular collaborator Shauna Buckley. Neutral but effective, the key shades include hickory brown, loading screen blue and matte black, with accents of oat milk white. For her final show as part of the NEWGEN programme, Robyn wanted to use the opportunity to revisit and perfect some of the cuts of seasons past by finding the harmonious balance between function and fashion. The Irish island embroidery from AW22 has now transformed into diamanté-encrusted dark denim jorts, while the SS23 bodycon technical knit becomes a longline hoodie with an elastic toggle belt. Newness in the form of laser-etched jeans, Aran knit zip-up cardigans and slinky rugby tops feed into the notions of elevated everyday garb and complete the concise line-up.
In what marks the Irish designer’s first official foray into footwear, all of the looks are complete with trainers created in partnership with Italian shoemaker GEOX. “I knew I wanted to reference my dad’s all-time favourite shoe, the perennial GEOX Uomo Snake. After going through all the variations of the model, I decided on revisiting a style from 2005. We created three variations, each in a different combination of browns and blues, seamlessly incorporated into the silhouettes,” Robyn explains. Using the Respira technology for optimal breathability, the sleek trainers mix suede, leather and manmade fabrics in a way that encourages the active potential of its wearer.It doesn’t matter if they’re hiking in Carrauntoohil on an early morning or dancing on pub tables late at night – the Robyn Lynch boys are ready to reach new heights.
STYLING: BEN SCHOFIELD
CASTING: JONATHAN JOHNSON
HAIR: SOPHIE JANE ANDERSON at Future Rep
SKIN: CHARLIE MURRAY using Elemis
SHOES: GEOX
SHOW NOTES: DINO BONAČIĆ
STUDIO TEAM: HOLLY FRANCIS, THEO COONAN
PRODUCTION: BLONSTEIN
PRESS: VILLAGE
STYLING ASSISTANT: KIT SWANN, SEAN BAKER-HUNTER, SCOTT CRUFT
CASTING ASSISTANT: REBECCA KNOX
TRACK ID: LISA O’NEILL - OLD NOTE
KETTAMA - BODY
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO: Ben Schofield, Jonathan Johnson, Holly Francis
Charlie Murray, Sophie Anderson, Dino Bonačić
Nicky Gard, Rachel Cooper, Alice Sear, Shellee Dokarkar
Blondstein, the NEWGEN judging panel
Enrico Grigoletti, Valentina Lattuada, Veronica Stefanelli
Francesca Galesso and all of the team at C.P Company
Federico Ditadi, Francesca Cavazza and all of the team at GEOX
One Hundred Shoreditch
Simon Sweeney, Shauna Buckley
Luigi Abate, past and present studio team
all of the women at OS Studio, Baldoyle Print
Mam, Dad, Enya, Adi & Andy
dedicated to Anne Ryan.