Offaly native to showcase graduate fashion collection at NCAD degree show
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Doon native Ian Concannon is set to exhibit a graduate collection at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Degree Show this June.
A final-year Fashion Design student at NCAD, Ian is preparing to launch a career in the creative industries after completing the degree studies.
The NCAD Degree Show 2026 at the Thomas Street campus in Dublin, will feature work from graduating students across a variety of disciplines. Ian Concannon will present the collection titled Creatures of Habit.
Describing the collection, Ian said Creatures of Habit is "a gender-inclusive collection which centres personal narrative", shaped by the poetic influence of Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
The collection explores "themes of rage, defiance, isolation, choice, consequence, and the search for purpose" and reflects on "the shared experience of queer people growing up in rural Ireland, where sexuality is often known but not acknowledged".
According to Ian, influences from queer nightlife and desolation help shape the collection's silhouettes and fabrication, while contemporary streetwear elements, including oversized proportions and layered styling, are "recontextualised through a more introspective and poetic lens, balancing wearability with storytelling".
Fabrication plays a central role throughout the collection. Ian said latex "shifts between transparency and opacity, fluidity and rigidity, mirroring the evolving nature of identity", while staining, distressing and embroidery are used to evoke "desolation and emotional erosion" across the garments' surfaces.
The collection will be on display at NCAD from June 5 to 13.
Ian also extended special thanks to the team behind the collection's photoshoot: photographer Róisín Curran; models Alison Rice, Shauna O'Rourke, Dan Casey and Sodem Solana; makeup artist Amie Dunne; and shoot assistants August Parish, Holly Morrissey and Anna Cali. Fashion design, styling and creative direction were led by Ian Concannon.
The exhibition highlights the creativity of emerging designers making their mark on Ireland's fashion scene.