The opulent Oak Room at the Mansion House was the perfect location for the charity fashion event Fashion Against Racism on Friday 23 March.
The show – organised by sisters Tolu and Tinoula Omoyele as part of the annual European Week Against Racism – was positioned as a platform for local and national fashion designers, models, hair and make-up artists, photographers and enthusiasts to “use their unique gifts to serve the city, celebrate differences and connect with one another to build a community of love and hope.”
According to Tolu Omoyele, the goal of the night “is to establish Dublin city as a true couture fashion capital, where multiculturalism is embraced and differences celebrated. We believe this annual trans-cultural and fashion forward event is the tool to do just that.”
Models from the Runway Model Academy strutted the catwalk donning works from award-winning designers Claire Garvey, Maria Cardenas, Babylon Clothing, Marion Murphy Cooney, Fiona Mangan and Tangos Formal Wear, with make-up by the International Make-Up Academy and hair by House of Colour.
Tolu Omoyele paid tribute to the fashion design “visionaries” who contributed their talents to the event.
“They have made the bold step to use their unique gifts to serve the community, to build a community of peace, love and hope. And we are very excited and extremely impressed by the support we have received so far from the community and local businesses.”
Milliner Fiona Mangan said she was taking part “because an event such as this helps all participants to bring awareness of the problems associated with racism to others.
“From my perspective as a milliner, my work is influenced by other cultures and geographies of hat wearers, whether in a formal or informal setting.”
Designer Maria Cardenas added: “I come from Cali, in Colombia, a city that has a mixed history of colonisation and slavery. I’m glad to be involved in this fight against ignorance and prejudice.”
Fashion aside, a line-up featuring tribal belly dancers Zoryanna, DJ Spaqz and singer/songwriter Sinead McNally provided the evening’s entertainment for an audience that included Dublin Lord Mayor Andrew Montague and his fiancée Sinéad Ahern, Kenyan Ambassador to Ireland Catherine Mwangi, Integration Centre CEO Killian Forde and the UK’s ‘African Woman of the Year’ Justina Mutale who travelled specifically to attend.
Raffle prizes on the night were donated by John Rocha, Biofresh Skincare, Choux Box and JLB Jewellery, with proceeds going to Show Racism the Red Card and the National Breast Cancer Research Institute.
