Barbara Hewson pictured in Times Square, New York
enjoying success Stateside,
where she is pursuing her
dream of fashion, fabric and
knitwear design in New York.
Barbara Hewson, originally
from Tramore and a graduate of
Stella Maris Secondary School,
is daughter of Kevin and Mary,
who reside in Fenor.
Barbara studied at the
National College of Art and
Design and graduated with a
BA honours degree from Limerick
School of Art and Design
(Limerick Institute of Technology)
in 2009.
While completing her
Bachelor of Honours degree
in Fashion Design, she was
chosen as a finalist in the prestigious
Persil Irish Fashion
Awards 2009 and her work
appeared on the televised live
final which was broadcast on
‘The Late Late Show’.
Considered to be the leading
national competition for young
contemporary design, the Persil
Irish Fashion awards showcases
the talents of elite ‘one to
watch’ designers.
“In 2008, while completing
my degree, I was selected to
work alongside leading fashion
industry designers Preen by
Thornton Bregazzi,” explained
Barbara.
“I provided assistance to the
design and production departments
for Preen’s highly anticipated
London and New York
Fashion week runway collection
shows that year.”
In 2010, she was accepted
for a one year internship Visa
program in New York and
moved to Brooklyn to pursue
her career in fashion design.
For Barbara, her love of
fashion began at an early age
and her talents were clear to see.
Her knitwear skills, ranging
from classic Irish Aran knit to
modern contemporary stitches,
became highly sought after.
“I was approached by design
house One16 Designs to head
a knitwear division that owner
Rupal Bhinda was starting,” she
said.
“I created knitwear designs
and developments and consulted
with top New York
designers including Lewis Cho,
James Coviello, Andrew Marc,
Kay Unger. My knitwear work
even appeared in the Anna
Sui New York Fashion Week
runway shows.”
While at One16 Designs, she
also designed and produced an
exclusive range of knitwear
stitches that clients could use as
fashion design inspiration.
That same year she designed
and produced a range of exclusive
jewellery designs for the
James Coviello Corporation
flagship store located in the
very fashionable Lower East
Side area of New York City.
“I was approached by the
industry’s leading design house
for print and fabric design
Angel Textiles last year,” she
explained.
“The one of a kind, original
prints and fabric designs have
appeared in numerous New
York fashion week runway
shows, presentations and photo
shoots. We have a massive
number of national and international
clients including Diane
Von Furstenburg, Anna Sui,
Rebecca Taylor, Tory Burch
and Calypso St Barth, Foundrae
and Trina Turk to name
but a few.”
Barbara also oversees the
company’s vintage print and
embellishment inspiration line.
Designers use the suggested
vintage prints and fabric designs
as inspiration for their fashion
week runway collections.
“It really is a dream come
true to work alongside such
incredibly talented design
teams every day,” said Barbara.
