Blondie Bombshell reviews the Air-Wave / San-Su Spring - Summer Collection

Sang-Su, Powerscourt Town-house Centre and Air Wave, Grafton Street, Dublin, held their joint Spring/Summer collection recently at a show in Parkes Hotel, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin.

The hotel's nightclub was packed with flat tops, gelled quiffs and bleached blonde perms. Everyone was trying not to look like a fashion victim yet few succeeded.

Like an oasis in a desert of overdone hair dressers and their clients I spied the basic black entourage from SIDES and made my way eagerly to my natural allies.

The heterosexual mating ritual was in progress all around me but was brought to a temporary halt by the appearance of our host, the ubiquitous Ronan Johnston, looking like a character from White Mischief - without that certain, unmistakable charm and je ne sais quoi of old money and fabulous, vulgar wealth or certainly groomed for some South Sea tropical island in the manner of the Air Wave brochure.

The audience, several hundred strong, hushed up as the lazers and scanners shafted through the clouds of ‘dry ice’ billowing around the dance floor. On came the models to wonderful music which was atrociously mixed by some DJ from suburbia.

A man wearing a trenchcoat stood out for both his relaxed air and the cut of the coat. Some striped women's two-piece suits looked good. Ronan, our M.C., was mumbling incoherently into the mike as more black and white stripes marched defiantly out onto the floor, daring to mix with the odd high waist. I'm tired of stripes whether vertical or horizontal. They’re overdone, they're last year . . .

As if in answer to my frustration some wonderful yellows and greens sallied forth - to a mute reception from my black babies.

The women models, for the most part, were wonderful and three of them actually looked as if they were enjoying the show, which sells clothes after all.

Black and white again, this time in check. Seems to be very popular but my SIDES babies threw their collective beady eyes to heaven. Pass.

Evening wear and a change of lightning heralded by an awful clatter from the DJ.

Some classic cuts with a timeless feel about them wafted in and out of the smoke. A little conservative colour-wise but elegant and eye-catching. Ronan M.C. again waffling away from an inanely written script. Do all the soft pastels worn by the women have to be delicate and feminine? Huh, answer me that one, Ronan baby.

Training clothes and sports gear were quite boring but then the hot-blooded men in the audience were getting frustrated at this stage waiting for the swimwear and their whole behaviour distracted me somewhat. A lot of frustration going around.

Well darlings, the place simply erupted when the bikinis and one piece bathing suits arrived. Surely the highlight of the show. Fabulous colours and so very summery suits followed by very camp, 50’s style skirts and casual dresses.

Overall; hated the DJ, hated the choreography, hated the M.C., loved the crowd, loved some of the models and absolutely adored the evening wear, shorts and swim wear.

The best item on show and my fashion siblings all agreed - headscarves. Very camp, very colourful, nay outrageous and also practical. And isn't that just the sort of headgear we need to protect ourselves with given the awful (political) climate we live in? More next issue.

Yours ever faithfully in fashion,

Blondie Bombshell-Fashion Victim Extraordinaire.

AIR WAVE, Grafton Street, Dublin 2.

SAN-SU, Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2.