User:Cillian359/sandbox

Legacy
Neillí Mulcahy, was a major name in the fashion Industry in the 1950s and 1960 and is renowned for her popularisation of Haute Couture Fashion in Ireland. Haute couture translates to ‘high sewing’, which is the art of dressmaking. The fine details and hand customisation of each garment through embellishment or precise measurements epitomise the definition of Haute couture. Mulcahy was one of the designers in Ireland who brought this detailed and precise style of dressmaking into the mainstream in the 50s and 60s. The goal of haute couture is always to deliver a unique and extremely detailed piece. Neillí Mulcahy co-founded the Irish Haute Couture Group in Ireland in 1962 alongside Irene Gilbert and IB Jorgensen in order to promote Irish haute couture abroad. The founding of this group, left long legacy of haute couture fashion in Ireland. Mulcahy’s worked paved the way for countless new haute couture designers in Ireland. Mulcahy also was considered “the first true Irish designer because of the huge emphasis on Irish fabrics” and was the beginning of the huge increase in use of Irish fabrics in mainstream fashion. Neillí Mulcahy’s was one of the designers of the time who popularised the use of Irish fabrics in haute couture. Mulcahy throughout her career used these Irish fabrics such as wool and tweed, in order to create her haute couture garments. Mulcahy used tweed fabrics in some of her most iconic projects such as the design of the new Aer Lingus uniforms in 1963. Mulcahy introduced a unique colour palate, incorporating colours which are still used to this day. Mulcahys use of these native fabrics, lead to a large increase in their popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, using these different textured fabrics to make high end and affluent garments. These Irish fabrics did not only gain popularity in haute couture in Ireland but, her work became popular in America, where she grew a large clientele base throughout her career.