Athlone students showcase fashion collections at NCAD degree show

Athlone students Ian Concannon and Gabrielle Dalby are exhibiting their graduate collections at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) Degree Show this June.

The NCAD Degree Show 2026, running until Saturday, June 13, at the Thomas Street campus in Dublin, features work from graduating students across a variety of disciplines.

As final-year Fashion Design students, Ian and Gabrielle are alumni of Athlone Community College and Our Lady’s Bower respectively, and are now preparing to launch their careers in the creative industries.

Both Ian and Gabrielle gained hands-on experience in the fashion industry during internships as part of their degree.

Ian interned with Penneys for 12 months, where he focused on designing children’s nightwear, accessories, essentials and footwear, and gained additional experience across women’s daywear and nightwear, and men’s daywear. He gained insight into trend development for seasonal ranges, assisted with colour development using Pantones, and supported print development.

Gabrielle interned with Eudon Choi, a London-based contemporary womenswear brand that specialises in ‘masculine tailoring with a feminine sensibility’, as well as Nimiiny, a made to order slow fashion womenswear brand based in Dublin, specialising in multiwear co-ords in natural fabrics built to last. She worked closely with the founder in all operations of the studio, including production, design and content creation.

She also gained experience with Arddun Agency as a showroom assistant for their Paris Fashion Week SS25 showroom as front of house, model dresser and runner.

Now the pair will showcase their talents at the NCAD degree show. Ian Concannon will present his collection titled 'Creatures of Habit', while Gabrielle Dalby will showcase 'With Love, From Helen'.

The exhibition offers a glimpse into the creativity and talent of local graduates making their mark in Ireland’s fashion scene.

Ian's collection is a gender-inclusive collection which centres personal narrative, shaped by the poetic influence of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Dylan Thomas and Robert Frost.

"Exploring themes of rage, defiance, isolation, choice, consequence, and the search for purpose, the collection reflects on the shared experience of queer people growing up in rural Ireland, where sexuality is often known but not acknowledged," Ian said.

"There are influences from queer nightlife and desolation further shape the collection's silhouette and fabrication direction, exploring classic garment silhouettes through a unique and personal approach, combining memory, cultural experience, and poetic narrative. The collection also draws heavily from contemporary streetwear, oversized proportions and layered styling are recontextualised through a more introspective and poetic lens, balancing wearability with storytelling. Hedonism also acts as a subtle influence throughout the collection, reflecting nightlife as both a space of escapism and self-discovery. Fabrication is central to the work.

"Latex shifts between transparency and opacity, fluidity and rigidity, mirroring the evolving nature of identity, while staining, distressing, and embroidery evoke desolation and emotional erosion within the garments’ surfaces, reinforcing the collection’s core themes."

Gabrielle's collection is a womenswear which she says is "rooted in the beauty, power and pain of the female body".

"It was sparked by a desire to connect with my grandmother Helen. I never met her due to her early death, yet I was struck by the idea that as she was pregnant with my mother, she was also carrying the eggs which would one day become my sisters and I," she said, speaking about the concept behind 'With Love, From Helen'.

"Taking inspiration from Matryoshka dolls and the four phases of the menstrual cycle, my collection aims to visualise this matriarchal connection in a soft and elegant way. I draw on the mother-daughter symbolism of the blood-like pomegranate, as well as Helen’s own artwork to highlight an intimate connection that surpasses generations.

“Through techniques of gathering, printing and carefully appliquéing silk organza, taffeta and grosgrain onto volumes of tulle, the garments delicately and lavishly illustrate the feminine balance of connection, tension, and release."

Announcing details of NCAD WORKS 2026, Professor Sarah Glennie, Director of NCAD, commented: “We are delighted to welcome a wide audience to our Dublin 8 campus for NCAD WORKS 2026, our showcase of our graduating students across our diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

"Ranging from fashion to sculpture, interaction design to painting, our graduates utilise their deep specialist material and digital knowledge to create bodies of work that respond to our current moment and imagine a different future. In challenging times their collective ambition to create, challenge and care reminds us of the power of the human imagination to inspire disruptive hope.”