First Published in Irish Dance Magazine

The Dress. The dancer. The dance.

Designer Gavin Doherty knows from experience the perfect performance combines all three.

“I take inspiration from those lines of WB Yeats:

O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance.

“That is what we are constantly striving for at Eire Designs. Our aim for every dress is to achieve that perfect harmony. You cannot separate the dress from the dancer and the dance; it’s a unique trinity combining colour and movement in choreographed harmony. That’s what we work towards. And the better we know the dancer over time, whatever school they dance for, the better we can work with them on the dress of their dreams.”

“When a dancer knows they look amazing, they feel amazing, so they dance amazing too. Getting everything just right is so important. From experience we know the effect the right dress can have on a performance.’ ”

“We love to hear them say things like ‘we didn’t think you could top her last dress but you did it,’ it shows we are constantly innovating.”

Gavin explains: “My goal as a designer is in captivating and mesmerizing the audience and the judges. It’s where my life as a designer began, trying to create this for my sister, then for close friends and family. Now for every dancer that comes to us looking for a dress, wherever they are in the world.”

A ‘Gavin’ is one of the most sought after costumes in Irish dance and while Gavin is rightly proud of his name and reputation he has created, he insists his team don’t rest on their laurels.

“We are constantly challenging ourselves. Every season is a new challenge. People look out for our designs at competition. That is pressure that we thrive on. We have an amazing design team that I personally work with on every single dress. We have the best and most skilled and highly trained staff working on embroidery and dressmaking. They travel to major competitions with me and for me to do personal consultations and provide alterations for those who don’t have the luxury of having an onsite fitting. This is important because we have customers from all over the world wanting to wear one of our dresses.

With the profile of Eire design dresses and the constant demand, quality is fundamental to everything Gavin does.

“We now have a dedicated customer service department so now we not only produce the best costumes in the world but we now provide the best service in the world both onsite and online. Our goal is to have each dress perfect for the dancer before it leaves our premises and we are very happy to resolve any issues if and when they arise.

“We only use the highest quality products and never opt for cheaper alternatives. The combination of these factors is why Swarovski have exclusively chosen us as their preferred partner for Irish dancing. They only partner with the best in any particular field.”

The Eire Designs team has noted the improvements in dancers’ performances and results when they put on “a Gavin” for the first time.

“Often we get asked does the dress get judged, and I say no the dress doesn’t get judged but the overall performance gets judged and the dress is part of that performance.”

As far as he is concerned, Gavin is being judged every time a dancer steps on the stage. The Dress. The Dancer. The Dance. It is what drives him on.