Month: February 2022

Design a Dress Competition

On 30th January 2022 we put out a call on social media for entries to a brand new competition. We asked our followers to send us an image of a dress that could inspire a brand new design for ilovecarousel.com. The image could have been from a movie, a tv show or something a fashion icon wore. We said we’d pick our favourites and hold a vote for the winner! The most exciting part, we’ll be creating a dress inspired by the winning image.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent in an idea! We received so many fabulous images and we wish we could make every single one of them. After much deliberation, we’ve chosen 5 dresses for the shortlist. Our decision was mainly influenced by the facilities we have available to us and whether or not we could do justice to the inspiration images.

See the five dresses that made the shortlist below:

Option 1 by Deirdre O’Brien – inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s classic style

This 1950s style dress is the first of our shortlist options. Deirdre O’Brien sent us three images that combine to create her dream dress! The bodice of Audrey Hepburn’s classic dress, a full skirt and a bow on the back to finish it off. We did up a sketch of how we envision Deirdre’s dream dress to look.

Option 2 by Sarah Pattison – inspired by Emma Stone’s dress in La La Land

The iconic yellow dress from the film La La Land is the second of our shortlist options. Sent in by Sarah Pattison, we fell in love with this idea immediately! The cut of the dress is so simple and elegant. And of course the colour is just fabulous.

Option 3 by Caiena Techart – inspired by Anya Taylor-Joy’s dress in The Queen’s Gambit

We loved watching The Queen’s Gambit when it first came out! Mainly because of Beth’s outfits. So we were delighted when Caiena Techart emailed us this pinafore as an entry for our competition. A cool and relaxed dress that can be worn with layers or on its own! 

Option 4 by Margaret McNally – inspired by Jackie Kennedy’s impeccable style

Margaret McNally sent us this image of the fabulous Jackie Kennedy. In Margaret’s words, ‘She had impeccable, elegant and timeless fashion sense. This dress has a simple design that has transcended the decades and would fit in beautifully today. A dress design that could carry you from day to night. A style that would compliment in any size.’ We couldn’t agree more and had to include this dress in our shortlist.

Option 5 by Susan Lynott – inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s dress in Funny Face

And last but definitely not least, this iconic dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face was sent in by Susan Lynott. We love its elegant shape but simplified it slightly for a more contemporary feel. The actual dress worn by Hepburn (designed by Givenchy) is on display in the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

That’s all 5 dresses on the shortlist. Now it’s time to have your say! Go to our Facebook or Instagram to vote for your favourite dress. Choose carefully as the winning dress will inspire a brand new Carousel creation! Once the votes are in, we’ll get to work finalising the design and getting the dress made in our factory. It’ll then be available to buy at ilovecarousel.com.

Thank you again to everyone who sent in an idea! We received so many wonderful images and we wish we could make every single one of them. Good luck to our 5 finalists! We can’t wait to see which dress comes out on top.

Deadstock Fabric

‘Deadstock’ seems to be the new buzz word in the #sustainablefashion circle! But what does it actually mean? We can’t speak for every fashion brand. But when we say deadstock, we’re referring to fabric that already existed and if not used, it may have been sent to landfill.

A simple definition of ‘Deadstock’ Fabrics

We were eager to introduce deadstock fabric to ilovecarousel.com and we decided the best way to do this was to create a brand new ‘Carousel’ brand. This new line of clothing will be made from majority deadstock fabric. There’s a great range of deadstock fabrics available and it actually means we can offer a larger variety of colours and prints.

When we use deadstock fabric, we don’t have to worry about the minimums that usually come with designing and producing our own fabric. We can buy small amounts of lots of different fabrics which in turn, reduces our waste.

Carousel Floral Tea Dress – €59.00 – Made from responsibly and ethically sourced deadstock rayon

There’s a certain amount of exclusivity when using deadstock fabric. Once the fabric has been used and the garments have been sold, we most likely won’t be able to source the same fabric again. So we would encourage you not to wait too long if you fall in love with one of our ‘Carousel’ pieces in particular!

The greatest appeal for using deadstock fabric is that they don’t require any new resources to be made. You can’t get any more sustainable than using things that already exist. Plus we’re giving these fabrics a second life and potentially saving them from ending up in landfill.

Deadstock fabrics are a great option in terms of aesthetics and sustainability. A win-win for everyone we reckon!

If a dress is made from deadstock fabric, are you more likely to buy it? 🤔

Carousel Floral and Butterfly Ruffle Dress – €59.00 – Made from responsibly and ethically sourced deadstock cotton

You can check out our new Carousel range here