Stay updated with the latest beauty tips, trends, and news from our salon experts. Our blog is your go-to source for all things beauty.
With a host of fresh designer arrivals and a flurry of inspiring designs, the Brown Thomas Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show delivered a feast for the eyes in the Merrion Hotel on Wednesday, 5 February.
Starting with a series of dresses in lush shades of green from Victoria Beckham, and ending with a still life model leaving her station to join the catwalk wearing layers of Erdem, the show celebrated the art of fashion and all it has to offer.
The Versaille-inspired event - complete with cakes in the shape of high heels and violinists playing Chappell Roan - welcomed Ireland's most fashionable cohort, with Bairbre Power, Ciara Doherty, Clementine MacNeice, Lawson Mpame, Irene O'Brien and more in attendance.
We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"There definitely was a breath of fresh air that we saw," she insists. "I know its a cliché to say that about spring and a new season, but it was very palette cleansing.
"I loved the kind of sorbet tones that were coming through. That really, really nice candy pink which I think has taken over from a Barbie pink."
Emerging trends included spring classics such as delicate prints from Chloé and Stella McCartney, lavish florals from Loewe, and vivid pink hues from Isabel Marant. Erdem infuses radiant yellow into silk creations, while Valentino revives its iconic bow-front midi dresses with modern refinement.
"It was just so gorgeous seeing those softer colours," says Corina. "I know they always come in for spring again but just to see them after the darkness of winter is so beautiful."
If lilac and mint don't enter your wheelhouse, 'summer black' is the trend for you. Redefining warm-weather dressing with a darker palette, this trend came through Alexander McQueen's lace-finished mini dresses, and Loewe's oversized trousers.
"I think that people shouldn't forget about black for the spring/summer season. I think it's about just looking for the right fabrics that work for the weather. So if it's warmer for summer time, just making sure you have your linens or cottons, also just breathable fabrics as well.
"Evening time, there were some amazing 'wow' black evening dresses," she adds, "I just don't think you can go wrong with black. Some people just love the shade and I think adding pops of colour through your make-up or your accessories or your shoes, and just kind of brightening it up."
Power dressing was found in Saint Laurent suits, Christian Dior trench coats, and Alexander McQueen's avant-garde tailoring, while more artisnal designs could be found in Erdem's embellished tailored jackets, and JW Anderson’s delivered playful cardigans.
If there was one item Corina would advise fashion fans to invest in for 2025 and beyond, though, it's the classic trench coat.
"I definitely saw a few versions of this on the catwalk today and I said - I probably repeat myself all the time, but it looks so gorgeous - the trench coat. I saw at least three trench coats and I just think it's such a staple piece that you can just throw on over a black dress, throw over white or pastels - it just kind of goes with everything."
Describing it as "a wardrobe workhorse", Gaffey says that some of this year's designs were more embellished and elevated, but that any classic beige coat will see you through years to come.
Looking ahead to fashion's biggest night of the year, Gaffey shared her insights to the Met Gala's recently announced theme: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
"What I love about tailoring is you can kind of break apart the pieces seperately," she says, noting that the BT show styled Victoria Beckham high-waisted tailored trousers with soft pastel tops.
The key, she says, it knowing how to play with each individual piece for different occasions. While a suit and heels may dazzle at dinner, a blazer may go perfectly with jeans and runners for a more casual look.
"I just think there's so many different ways of styling tailoring, whether you wear it all in one or take it apart and make it more casual and suited to your lifestyle. I think a suit is a real 'wow' as a two-piece but then just knowing how to style it in different ways to get the bang out of your buck."
