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FLYING THE FLAG Tim Ryan’s creative process could
n’t be further placed from conveyor belts. A self-taught sorcerer of knits, whose savoir-faire was sparked by a childhood home filled with woollens, each fresh creation is kickstarted a little differently: “I never draw first, I never toile or test, I just sit and start into a piece… Too much planning beforehand and I get bored.” Spurred on by the sense that “a single yarn can create so many possibilities and fabrications,” paired with a penchant for sprightly colour combos, the Tipperary-born, London-based designer has long courted acclaim for his tactual wares. Whilst Ryan’s machine- and handknit dresses (most recently sported by Sonia Lennon) transport my mind’s eye to imagined landscapes – idylls in which hills are cerulean and rivers cerise – his fringed jackets are especially headturning. Here, he liberally extends beyond fashion’s parameters and heads straight into wearable art; exploding with vibrancy, you’d be hard pressed to find a colour palette he hasn’t embraced. Ryan approaches his fringing akin to a painting, fuelled more so by instinct than pre-conceptions, but the end result is less static canvas, more performance art: “the open, kinetic textures of the fringing affect how the colours resonate together… I love how that really comes alive when someone wears the pieces.” Perhaps most refreshing is, at the risk of sounding off buzzwords, how organic his success has been. Rather than feel pressure to brainstorm and craft under London’s faster-than-fast industry pace (its velocity now increasingly questioned and challenged), his independent spirit prevails, ensuring he’ll always work to the click of his own knitting needles. Newfound fans can custom-order and enquire on pieces through Ryan’s Instagram page – his posts are a goldmine of sleeve-swooshing goodness. @tim_ryan_knit LET’S HAVE A KIKI HEMLINES words Amelia O’Mahony-Brady Refresh your Rigout... with a mango-hued Manley bag, whose dual carrying styles (clutch and crossbody) will whisk you from afternoon tea to Another Love Story. €250 manley.ie A PERFECT MATCH (DAY)? Football and fashion may be unlikely bedfellows, but the humble soccer scarf has been percolating collections for years now (the strongest examples hail from Comme Des Garçons, Balenciaga and Vetements). If you want to look Premier League ready without picking sides, both Hen’s Teeth and Soft Boy Records have you covered: the SBR scarves were brought to life by the talented Ellen Kirk. hensteethstore.com / softboyrecords.com The first time I crossed paths with Ciarna Pham – a fellow colour and print fiend who thrives under the moniker Kiki Na Art – was at a Dublin Christmas Bazaar in Smithfield’s Block T. Back then, blissfully, the capital’s most beloved markets weren’t at risk of eviction, and Folkster still organised knock-out kilo sales (a new phenomenon on Irish shores) as Shutterbug Vintage. Her display table was full-to-thebrim with familiar faces in fashion, art and music, their portraits seamlessly cut-andpasted onto collage-esque necklaces and earrings. Statement jewellery this certainly was, and after some split-second hovering I reached out for a neckpiece replete with David Bowie’s mug; an eruption of rainbow hues dancing behind him. In the years that have shot by since, Kiki has concocted both collections and custom orders at a staggering rate, her chosen subjects – stretching from Bjork to Father Dougal Maguire – reading like a diverse, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, always feminist Hall of Fame. Pham’s backstory is fascinating, and vividly detailed in a 2017 piece by our former fashion editor Sinead O’Reilly (search on totallydublin.ie): attempting to nutshell it just wouldn’t do justice. But as far as her present-day work is concerned – conjured up with a strong social conscience, and a generous seasoning of maximalism – the pieces speak for themselves. kikinaart.com Music and Meditation Sunday 18 th August from 2 - 5pm The Choclate Factory 26 King's Inns Street, Dublin 1, D01 P2W7 www.freemeditation.ie Sahaja Yoga Meditation is simple and natural way to meditation, working on the body's subtle system to bring balance and greater sense of wellbeing to our lives. it can also help to relieve stress and improve health. Know Thy Self Free Event