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Pauric Sweeney: Both Magic and Roundabout
By Godfrey Deeny
No trip to London is complete without taking in an Off collection, whose opening offering
Thursday was by Pauric Sweeney, a young Irish designer who has made London his home.
Sweeney showed his fall 2002 collection in the Café de Paris, an old London supper club whose
gilt and Old World charm contrasted mightily with the edgy ideas of the young designer.
Pauric has fertile imagination and sent plenty of novel ideas onto the dance floor.
Adidas provided some vintage pants that, by witty cutting, were fashioned some very natty
Afghan-style jodhpurs that were definitely original.
Paired with carved leather breastplates, these looked great.
Sweeney also played around with sweatshirts, cutting them in back to make a dress supported
by grandfatherly suspenders.
He also showed some fine carved and laser cut leather bags that really worked.
Sweeney's inspiration was "The Magic Roundabout" a cult French cartoon that was a hit in
Britain.
The characters are delightfully wacky, and almost seem inspired by an acid-deranged mind.
However bestrewn over sweatshirts and tops they added little to the clothes and muddied the
impact of this collection.
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