Fashion, Design & Crafts
Irish Design Week
Standing Ground: Ireland-France, Savoir-Faire, Innovation & the Future of Crafts.
11 November 2026 - 10 January 2027
National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History
Collins Barracks, Dublin 7
Admission Free
Design & Crafts Council Ireland, in association with the French Embassy and the National Museum of Ireland, present the exhibition Standing Ground: Ireland-France, Savoir-Faire, Innovation and the Future of Crafts.
This exhibition highlights the work of Irish designer Michael Stewart, founder of the Irish fashion atelier Standing Ground, and winner of the inaugural LVMH Savoir-Faire Prize in 2024, through the lens of exceptional craftsmanship and savoir-faire from France and Ireland. Celebrating Standing Ground’s first haute couture collection, the exhibition spotlights French expertise through Michael Stewart’s collaboration with Maison Vermont— renowned French haute couture embroidery house under Dior—and the mentorship provided as part of the 2024 LVMH Prize. It features two dresses shown in Paris in July 2026: a Carrickmacross lace dress, hand-drawn by Michael Stewart and worked by Monaghan artisans over 4,000 hours, alongside a black corseted embroidered dress created with Maison Vermont's exceptional savoir-faire and over 500 hours of work.
The exhibition is organised by Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), in collaboration with the French Embassy in Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland, and funded by DCCI with support from Maison Vermont and LVMH Métiers d'Excellence.
