A spectacular campaign shot in Roundstone, Connemara stars Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Celia Holman Lee, Max Hart, Travy, KhakiKid, Lauren Whelan, Marwa Noelle Ali and Ivana Miličević.
Eight well-known names from Irish music, film, fashion, sport and culture are pictured amid the extraordinary Atlantic landscape of Roundstone, Connemara in Coming Home: An Island in Motion, the striking 2026 campaign unveiled by Ireland Fashion Week powered by Visa.
The campaign launched on 18 September, with the Ireland Fashion Week 2026 hero image beamed at huge scale onto the Convention Centre; an OOH initiative then rolled out city-wide across 85 Dublin locations.
Shot by internationally acclaimed Irish photographer Damian Foxe, the creative project starts the countdown to Ireland Fashion Week, returning next week from 7 to 12 October 2026 with eight shows, more than 90 designers and a line-up spanning household names, emerging talent, graduates and the wider creative community of Ireland.
The launch line-up takes in actor Jamie-Lee O’Donnell; racing driver Max Hart; Irish fashion icon Celia Holman Lee; Ireland Fashion Week Model of the Year Marwa Noelle Ali; musicians Travy and Abdu Huss, known as KhakiKid; digital creator Lauren Whelan; and actor and model Ivana Miličević.
Taken together, the line-up reflects the myriad ways Ireland is experienced today. Their personal stories reach across generations, countries and cultures, though all are bound by a feeling of home and a role in shaping modern Irish life.
Casting and producing the campaign was central to the work of Ashley McDonnell, Founder of Ireland Fashion Week, who commented: “Coming Home: An Island in Motion is a celebration of Irish creativity in all its forms. We have brought together an extraordinary cast spanning fashion, film, music, sport and culture, dressed in Irish design and photographed against the breathtaking landscape of Roundstone.”
“We wanted this to feel both familiar and unexpected. To capture the Ireland we know and love while showing the confidence, diversity and creative energy shaping the country today. Each person involved brings their own story and interpretation of home, but together they represent an Ireland that is proud of its roots and excited about its future.
Her closing thought: “Ireland Fashion Week is ultimately about celebrating the remarkable talent we have here and giving people across the country the opportunity to discover, support and take pride in Irish fashion.”
For the length of the shoot, the streets, shoreline and working harbour of Roundstone turned into a striking fashion landscape. Set against long-established boat workshops, weather-beaten buildings and the dramatic Connemara coast, the images feel at once familiar and surprising, pairing the raw character of Ireland’s west with the polish and scale of a global fashion editorial.
On her involvement in the campaign and in Ireland Fashion Week 2026, actor Jamie-Lee O’Donnell said: “Fashion has always been a brilliant form of self-expression for me. It can say so much about who you are, where you come from and how you want to present yourself to the world. Ireland is full of fearless, imaginative creatives who deserve to be seen on an international stage.
Her further comment: “Being part of this campaign feels incredibly special. The landscape in Connemara is unmistakably Irish, but the fashion and creative direction show a country that is constantly evolving and redefining itself. I’m genuinely proud to help launch it.”
This year’s Ireland Fashion Week City Hall show puts the spotlight on internationally respected Irish designer Sinéad O’Dwyer, whose progressive approach to representation, inclusivity and inventive pattern-cutting is rewriting the rules of contemporary luxury. Her accolades include the Zalando Visionary Award and British Fashion Council NEWGEN support, along with a semi-final place in the 2025 LVMH Prize. Two of her designs are currently held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Known for her progressive position on representation and inclusivity, O’Dwyer reshapes contemporary luxury through imaginative pattern-cutting and an expanded dialogue between the body and the garment.
The six-day programme further features Brother Wolf by Pádraig Whelehn, Mná by Sarah Plunkett Chadwick, Aoife McNamara, Sasha Donnellan, Bold Golf and RASHHIIID. The opening Irish Roots show at St Helen’s puts established and up-and-coming Irish labels on display, while the RDS hosts Damhsa, the graduate show, bringing more than 40 designers together. A further 30 designers will be presented by The Irish Edit showroom at 1 Windmill Quarter.
More than 20 international publications are due to attend this year, together with top creatives, journalists and models, plus international model Coco Rocha. Discovered at 14 while taking part in an Irish dance feis, Rocha has gone on to walk for fashion houses such as Dior, Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Built on community, contrast and celebration, the IFW 2026 campaign Coming Home was created by Artistic Director David Allen. The people and working culture of Roundstone thread through the story, with the cast representing an Ireland proud of its heritage yet unwilling to stand still.
Dublin born and London based, campaign photographer Foxe has produced work for international editions of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair and previously served as Fashion Director of the Financial Times’ HTSI. Coming back to Ireland for this shoot, he combines an internationally honed fashion eye and a deep familiarity with the visual identity of the country.
Looks were chosen by stylist Brian Conway from designers participating in Ireland Fashion Week 2026, among them Paul Costelloe, Sasha Donnellan, Triona, Magee 1866, Louis Copeland, Jack Murphy and Alacoque Daly. The Dylan Bradshaw team created hair using L’Oréal Professionnel, while makeup was led by Lan Nguyen-Grealis using SOSU Cosmetics.
Returning as title sponsor for 2026, Visa is backing Ireland’s designers and creative entrepreneurs while they scale their businesses, embrace digital commerce and reach new audiences. Support also comes to Ireland Fashion Week from Tourism Ireland and Dublin City Council, and that backing will prove significant to this year’s programme.
A tribute to the Irish landscape, Coming Home doubles as a statement of intent from Ireland Fashion Week. Irish creativity merits the same scale, confidence and production values granted to any leading international fashion capital.
The 7 to 12 October 2026 programme is revealed by Ireland Fashion Week
Wednesday, 7 October: Slane Castle hosts the Opening Ceremony
Ireland Fashion Week opens at Slane Castle in Co. Meath with an evening ceremony and dinner, returning for a second year with Marks & Spencers to honour the designers and makers at the heart of the Irish fashion industry and to frame the six days of programming that follow.
Under the theme Coming Home: An Island in Motion, Ireland Fashion Week and M&S are connecting Ireland’s worldwide creative influence with a world-class fashion ecosystem on home ground. Working with strategic partners, they are enabling local creatives to help determine the industry’s next direction.
As M&S marks 100 years in fashion, the evening will acknowledge the brand’s influence on the Irish market and the way it has nurtured several of Ireland’s most recognisable fashion leaders, at home, in London and beyond.
The opening ceremony celebrates a mutual commitment to creativity and craftsmanship, with Irish chef Mark Moriarty leading the culinary direction and Corina Gaffey on creative styling.
Thursday, 8 October: Sportswear and Irish Roots
The Irish Roots Show at St Helens Hotel in Booterstown, Dublin opens Thursday’s schedule. The Exo Building in Dublin’s Docklands then hosts the Bold Golf Sportswear Show that evening.
Friday, 9 October: Sinéad O’Dwyer and The Irish Edit
The Irish Edit Showroom sets up at 1WML on Windmill Lane, Dublin 2. Dublin City Hall is where Sinéad O’Dwyer stages her show that evening.
Saturday, 10 October: Streetwear, showcases and graduates
Saturday starts with The Damhsa Graduate Show at the RDS Concert Hall, placing emerging talent at the very centre of the programme.
Next comes the Rashhiiid Showcase at the Gerard Byrne Gallery on Trinity Street, with The Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity College Dublin staging the Brother Wolf Streetwear Show that evening.
Sunday, 11 October: MNÁ, conversations and contemporary fashion
Dion Rooftop Restaurant, One Central Plaza, on Dame Street hosts the Sasha Donnellan Contemporary Show to start Sunday.
Throughout the day, panel discussions run at Medley, in the Old Irish Times Building in Dublin city centre, under Visa Presents: Ireland Fashion Week Talks.
The MNÁ Fashion Show at The Stapleton in Powerscourt Townhouse Centre closes the day.
Monday, 12 October: Mount Juliet and modern heritage
Co. Kilkenny brings the week to an end with the Aoife McNamara Modern Heritage Show at Mount Juliet Estate, Thomastown.
From graduate collections to presentations by established names, the Ireland Fashion Week 2026 programme asks audiences to explore every corner of Irish fashion and to discover the designers and creatives shaping its future.
For more on Ireland Fashion Week 2026, visit https://irelandfashionweek.substack.com/
