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Cork’s fashion-loving citizens flocked to City Hall on Thursday night to the first in-person ieStyle Live event since 2019, hosted by designers Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney.
“Tonight is about you and about having fun,” Brendan told an excited audience at the start of a night that saw guests enjoy food, fashion, and fun throughout.
The event was in association with Clarins and partners Audi Cork, Ireland’s Eye Knitwear, and charity partner Peter McVerry Trust.
During a three-course dinner, keynote speaker and columnist Maeve Higgins, who travelled to Cork from New York for her ieStyle Live fireside chat, spoke with Sonya Lennon — martinis in hand — about life in America, its connection to her home to Cork, and her experience going back to college.
“As I get older, I feel so curious about so many things,” she said of her PhD journey and her writing inspiration.
“The main thing that drives me is curiosity, trying to write about things I really care about, and things I think are not written about enough.”
She said much of her writing is inspired by the ‘immigrant journey’, particularly given her upbringing in Cobh which was historically an exit route for generations of Irish people.
“I grew up learning all about the people who left Ireland, and I never really thought about what happens to them when they reached America,” she said.
“I started to draw lines between being a New Yorker today having come from Cobh.”
She touched upon her interactions with former president Mary Robinson too, with whom she recorded a podcast, .
She describes Ms Robinson as someone who “actually cares very deeply about climate justice”.
“She’s obsessed with that intersection of human rights and the climate crisis,” said Maeve. “And she has all these incredible connections all over the world.”
She also said some of the most important and influential spaces in her life are occupied by women.
“Some of the most important things in my life happened in conversations with other women, like with my friends or my sisters, in spaces that are traditionally thought of as female spaces,” she said.
“To me, those spaces have really made a difference in my life. That goes back to the value of the human and everybody bringing a value to the table.”
Time for some fashion #IESTYLELIVE pic.twitter.com/tCc5Z2HbKJ
— Eimear Moran (@emesmc) October 20, 2022
A fashion show curated by stylist Corina Gaffney and produced by Vivienne McCarthy dazzled with looks from Samui, H&M, Kildare Village, River Island, Brown Thomas, and Arnotts, offering glamorous inspiration for all budgets and featuring looks from a host of Irish designers FéRí, Caroline Kilkenny, Ireland’s Eye, Cobbler’s Lane, Fee G, and Caoimhe Murphy.
What a show!! @IELifestyle_ #ieStyleLive pic.twitter.com/3QRyoatm3G
— Nicole Glennon (@nicoleglennon_) October 20, 2022
During the fashion show, the audience were treated to music from Fehdah, a future-Afro soul vocalist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Prizes were up for grabs throughout the night too, with Monika Seidel being highlighted for best post on social media using the hashtag #ieStyleLive.
Thanking attendees for their support, Brian Friel, deputy chief executive of charity partner Peter McVerry Trust, said fashion is more than a superficial interest.
We’re thrilled to be the @IELifestyle_ #iestylelive charity partner tonight. Our Deputy CEO, Brian Friel, is attending tonight with our Cork team to speak about our work and explain how your support will help more people leave homelessness behind for good. Thank you. 💙 pic.twitter.com/owcBbDte03
— Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) October 20, 2022
“Fashion is often misunderstood as something that’s an extravagant extra, but it’s at the heart of what it means to be human,” he said.
“Without your support and without the support of people like you, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do.”
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