In an ornately decorated tearoom in the city centre, with specially made branded condoms and red carnations strewn on the floor, Cork designer Ríon Hannora is explaining the vision behind her latest collection, a series of unisex bridal designs.
"I was just at weddings time and time again where the bride was, like, silent and no women in the wedding party would speak, and it was just all the men who were speaking", she told RTÉ Lifestyle after presenting the collection.
"She's portrayed as this virgin woman, and it's kind of like... We all know-- I don't know, we're just all having sex!"
Sexuality and playfulness go hand in hand in Hannora's latest collection, titled 'Sex Before Marriage', which was presented as part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week (DIFW) last week to rave reviews and an outpouring of celebration from the fashion community.
Models walked past guests wearing stiff corsets layered over shirts, gathered skirts, a suit with trailing tails and oversized lapels (designed for Hannora's friend, I'm Grand Mam podcaster Pj Kirby), and pearl-embellished headpieces that resembled knives and horns.
It featured atmospheric music from Lisa Canny and Laura Doherty from Biird, as well as Josh Sampson, jewellery from Reilly House and paintings from Paddy Critchley, and was just one standout event in a week bursting with them, as DIFW lit up the city.
The theatrical show took place in the historical setting of Bewley's on Grafton Street, in the James Joyce room, which is outfitted in lush furnishings, mirrored walls and with a balcony that overlooks the buskers and shoppers below.
As well as being a visually impressive setting, Hannora had another reason for choosing the storied cafe.
"As part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week, I feel like a lot of artists and designers have been pushed outside of the city. This is such a beautiful historical building, being Bewley's, but if you went down Grafton Street - even just looking over [the balcony] - it's all Victoria's Secret, & Other Stories, really just commercial retail businesses.
"This used to be a street where a lot of independent brands and designers used to be on, and that's not the case anymore."
This sums up one of the core reasons that Hannora and her DIFW co-founders started the week-long event, which has just completed its spectacular third run.
This year, the stylish event featured everything from runway shows and exhibitions to still-life drawing sessions and theatrical performances. The team has also expanded enormously, from just seven members in its first year to almost 70 designers this year.
"We basically just founded it because there was a lack of opportunities and space to be in Ireland and in Dublin, and instead of waiting around for other people to create spaces for us or emigrating even, we just decided to make the spaces ourselves.
"It's completely self-funded, we don't get any money from the government or any sponsorship at all, so this year, every single bit of it is out of our own pockets and out of the pockets of the designers."
"It's about recreating these spaces for ourselves and each other", she says. "It's trying to put yourself back on the main street that you kind of were once kicked off."
Making a mark is central to Hannora's work, which she describes as being designed for people who like to make a statement with their clothing. Unisex clothing is something the designer has always strived for, she says, and her bridal collection is destined for spouses who aren't afraid to "step outside the norm".
"Going to weddings and marriage is a big part of my life, seeing as I'm from a really big family, and there would be a lot of weddings throughout the year, but I just felt that there's a different format you can go down. It doesn't have to be just white dresses and suits. There is a different way to celebrate these days in alternative clothing."
This year, marking the 10-year anniversary of the Marriage Referendum passing in Ireland, was also on her mind when creating the collection. Hannora says she wanted to "celebrate love without all of the shame around sex and having women as property".
"So it's trying to take all the good things of a wedding and put it into a collection, and leave all the bad things aside."
She added: "Sexuality isn't something that we should be ashamed of, or something that we've to pretend that isn't happening."
Which is how guests were presented with a bride walking the runway with a white basket filled with branded Ríon Hannora condoms, tossing them as a flower girl would toss rose petals.
"I just think the idea of a bride with a load of condoms in her pocket is just like ... silly and funny and something that's like, super serious but also just like, it can be serious and silly at the same time. It's quite camp, which is how I like to make clothes anyway."
