A few weeks ago, the underground car park at The Westbury was the host of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) fashion show. Many of the city’s fashion names in attendance, including Joanne Hynes, Aisling Farinella, Suzanne McDougal and top Fashion Editors Bairbre Power and Deirdre McQuillan. The catwalk featured the work of 32 graduating students, showcasing three to six looks each.

The show was sponsored in part by The Westbury, and CEO of The Doyle Collection Pat King said of the event…

“We take great pleasure in supporting and nurturing Ireland’s emerging young fashion designers; this was reflected in our activities as corporate sponsor of ID2015, the year of Irish design. Following the success of last year’s NCAD graduate fashion show held in our beautiful Grafton Suite, we are extremely excited to be welcoming back the graduate students this year and to be hosting the first-ever fashion show to be held in the underground carpark of The Westbury – this space is sure to create a cutting edge catwalk in Dublin’s metropolitan heart.”

To celebrate The Westbury’s partnership with NCAD, the hotel has launched a beautiful afternoon tea inspired by the work of the young designers. The NCAD Inspired Afternoon Tea will be served in The Gallery, a renowned and beautiful space with wonderful views of the city.  

Inspiration was drawn from five of the students, whose collections were focued on colour, print, pleating, stitch and construction. Tatjana Upelniece-Kiselova is Executive Pastry Chef at The Westbury and has created a selection of desserts that reflect the spirit of designs by the students.

When looking at Colour (created by Zoe Redmond - right) Tatjana utilised the bold red tones to create a vibrant cherry macaoon with smooth velvet mocha cream.

Roy Lichtenstein was the inspiration for Eavan Butler’s Prints, so Tatjana used the theme to create a lime, lemon and grapefruit tart. When looking at Construction by Laura Egan, Tatjana emulated the yellow and black dress with a piña colada entremet.

Ciana Keating had designed a sky-blue striped swimming dress (below), which was complimented perfectly with a delicate blueberry vanilla cake, a delicious afternoon tea treat. A rich and decadent chocolate and pistachio éclair was inspired by John Burrows Stitching, with a raspberry decoration that imitates the pattern on the jacket.

Talking about her creations for the tea, Tatjana said:

“As a pastry chef it is particularly important to pay attention to the finer details, as it is necessary to have a balance between both how the cakes and pastries resemble the NCAD fashion designers creations and how they will taste for our guests. It was a very exciting challenge to meet with the designers in their NCAD fashion studio and choose which from some of their amazing creations and decide which ones would translate best as a dessert. Overall, it was an incredible experience which I thoroughly enjoyed and it was an absolute pleasure to work with the NCAD fashion graduates, who have each created truly inspiring collections”

The NCAD Inspired Afternoon Tea is available now for €47 per person, or €59 per person with Moët & Chandon or Moët & Chandon Rosé. For a real treat, the Dom Pérignon Champagne Afternoon Tea option is €80 per person. The special tea is available until the middle of September, and bookings are advised. You can also book the NCAD Inspired Overnight Experience which includes…

• One night’s luxury accommodation for two
• Full Irish breakfast
• NCAD Inspired Afternoon Tea for two

Available from €405.

For more, visit the website here.