Design and diplomacy: how Ireland creates space for Irish design abroad

Irish Design Week takes place in November each year and offers a wide range of workshops panels and exhibitions to highlight the intersectionality of design in Ireland and abroad.

The Design and Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), which is the national agency for craft and design in Ireland, convene the weeklong event. It supports designers and makers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, and advocates for the societal benefits of craft and design.

Creating space for creatives within traditionally diplomatic or political spaces breaks the barriers that limit innovation. In creating this space, the role of government within the design space cannot be underestimated.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and DCCI recently hosted a panel in the Royal Irish Academy of Music, discussing and highlighting the importance of design and diplomacy working in conjunction with one another.

The panelists came from a range of backgrounds, highlighting the intersectionality of the topic itself. The Irish Ambassador to Denmark, Elizabeth McCullough, Head of Consumer Management at EI, Teri Smith, Head of Culture Unit in DFA, Eugene Downes and Head of Design at DCCI, Tom Watts discussed the importance of highlighting the role of diplomacy and overseas promotional work to showcase Irish designers overseas and Robert O’Driscoll, Director of the Economic and OECD Unit in DFAT moderated the discussion.

The panel noted that around the world, events have taken places in Irish Embassies to highlight the cultural and diplomatic impact of design by creating spaces for creatives and linkages for innovation and collaboration.

The impact of these events can be felt concretely through the tangible relationships built between the designers and attendees of the event.

A good example is an event in the Irish Embassy in Paris, where Róisín Pierce, an Irish womenswear designer, presented her designs.

'Our 2024 Paris Fashion Week presentation was kindly hosted by the Irish Embassy in Paris and supported by the DFA and DCCI. As a result of the event, the profile of the Róisín Pierce brand was elevated to the global stage. The collection was widely featured - and praised - by the array of fashion and arts press welcomed into the grand space. Coupled with an invitation to join the Dover Street Market showroom, the significant platform provided by the presentation also meant we expanded our reach to many key international retailers. In just a few months, our distribution grew from two stores to nine - across eight countries, from Japan to the USA. We anticipate even more in 2025.'

Similarly, Eddie Shanahan from the Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) noted that:

‘Our first engagement with the Department of Foreign Affairs was early this year, when one of our members, Caroline Duffy, went to Mexico City and came back with connections with the Embassy in Beijing. The Irish Embassy in Beijing then asked designers to attend the Hainan expo, where Ireland was a country of honour. The four designers who attended developed their confidence and learned dramatically how to connect with the international market place.”

Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) are now in discussion with the Embassy in Paris, about more designers displaying their designs in advance of the next season. The support from the Embassy here is immense and allows these designers to gain media exposure, use the space and ultimately spread the word globally.

“This has been a dramatic change for us. This has opened up opportunities in markets where our individual members could not afford to go or would do so at their peril,” says Shanahan.

This practice can be seen across the globe with Irish Embassies supporting art and design abroad and offering a chance for designers to showcase and highlight ideas and innovative solutions for the problems we face as an island and globally.

Explore some examples: