Unicorn.

Unicorn is a women's designerwear label founded by Sophie Rieu in 05. Sophie is French; she fell in love with Ireland while on holiday with her parents as a teenager and has lived in Ireland since 94. She studied journalism in DIT and went on to work as a freelancer for about three years by which time she was selected by Green MEP Patricia Mc Kenna to become her press officer. She studied design at the Grafton Academy as a hobby while working in the European Parliament, and got totally hooked (she used to knit and always loved fashion since a wee girl) and then decided to go full time as a designer. She set up Unicorn Design in 03 and sold directly to clients from capsule collections made from organic/fair trade cotton. As the company grew and designs became popular she then created the first collection of designerwear in 05 with more elaborate designs made from an array of carefully chosen exquisite natural and organic fabrics. The label Unicorn is about timeless understated elegance with a pinch of playful quirkiness plus added ethics on the environmental and social front. The label has won a no of awards including a Top 50 New product at Showcase 08 award and the Best Creative Designer award 08 in a public poll run by the USA consultancy Chic Eco. Unicorn has been stocked throughout Ireland as well as the USA; Japan; Germany and the UK.

Its main current stockists are in Ireland, among them the Kilkenny shops in Dublin and Galway; Couture in Naas; Frock in Wexford and Ail Ruin in Clarinbridge...

For more information; please go to www.unicorndesign.net

Winter 09 by Unicorn futher explores elaborate tailoring techniques while using exquisite fabrics with a great history oh heritage and culture. The collection is called midnight Dreams and has dark shimmering black contrasting with Magentas and bright teal blues; beautiful red and gold hues clamming with rich browns and jade.