[DESIGNER ANNOUNCEMENT] 📣 Graduate Show: Meet Anna Finnis, Bray Zhang, Hollie Marie Gallagher, Chloé Burke, and Mia Walsh!

Five exceptional graduate designers making their debut and showcasing bold creativity, emotional storytelling, and sustainable innovation in Ireland Fashion Week's Irish Sea Graduate Show.

Jul 11, 2025

As part of the Irish Sea Graduate Show this October 2025, Ireland Fashion Week is delighted to spotlight five exceptional graduate designers: Anna Finnis, Bray Zhang, Hollie Marie Gallagher, Chloé Burke, and Mia Walsh. Each of these designers will present a singular, deeply personal look that captures the spirit of Irish creativity and the bold new direction of sustainable and narrative-led fashion. Their work represents a powerful cross-section of emerging voices shaping the future of fashion from within Ireland’s most promising creative institutions. ⭐

Meet the Designers 🎨

Anna Finnis

Graduate of Ulster University, Belfast School of Art – BA (Hons) in Textile Art, Design and Fashion

Based in Derry, Anna Finnis is a sustainable fashion designer whose practice draws heavily on family history, textile heritage, and memory. A first-class honours graduate, Anna’s fabric-first design philosophy gives new life to vintage, second-hand, and deadstock materials. Her graduate collection, ‘The Violet Street Collection’, is a heartfelt tribute to her late grandad, incorporating textiles found in his home - including her grandmother’s curtains - to create meaningful, upcycled garments. Influenced by her great-great-grandmother’s quilting skills and the dramatic architecture of opera houses, Anna’s signature silhouettes are both nostalgic and inclusive, featuring adaptive elements for diverse body types and identities. Her work has been featured at ‘Heritage Threads’ exhibitions in Belfast and Lisburn, as well as the 2025 Derry Fashion Fest. She offers made-to-order garments created exclusively from reclaimed materials and designed to empower women, non-binary, and trans individuals aged 25-40 across Ireland, the UK, and beyond - those who value thoughtful design, sustainability, and clothing with soul.

“Ireland Fashion Week is a platform for the future of fashion. As a young designer from Derry, I’m proud to be part of it. My work is rooted in storytelling through fabric, and I’m here to challenge ideas around what sustainable fashion can look and feel like.”

Bray Zhang

Graduate of Technological University of the Shannon – BA (Hons) in Fashion Design with Promotion

At just 20 years old, Bray Zhang is the youngest graduate of his program and already a standout presence in Irish fashion. His label, BRAY ZHANG, redefines quiet luxury for the modern individual - drawing inspiration from classic silhouettes and personal identity. Rooted in classic tailoring, Bray’s work is sleek, gender-fluid, and emotionally resonant - fusing elevated simplicity with subtle provocation. His AW25 look debuts at Ireland Fashion Week following a standout internship at Gaurav Gupta (Paris Fashion Week) and a Parisian photoshoot for his graduate collection, which he self-directed. Beyond clothing, he is developing a fine fragrance line for 2026, embracing slow perfumery and high-quality raw ingredients. His offerings span structured garments made with premium materials like Donegal tweed and silk, created for driven, authentic individuals aged 25-40 who live in cities like Dublin, Shanghai, London, and Paris. These are fashion-forward professionals who connect to style and scent as a form of empowerment and expression.

“This milestone marks a significant moment for BRAY ZHANG as we step onto a national stage that celebrates creativity, innovation, and the future of Irish fashion.”

Hollie Marie Gallagher

Graduate of Atlantic Technological University, Donegal – BA (Hons) in Fashion with Promotion

A conceptual designer from Co. Donegal, Hollie Marie Gallagher brings emotional depth and avant-garde vision to fashion through her brand Dare to Howl. Her work explores the boundaries between identity, vulnerability, and personal space, using sculptural forms and rich heritage textiles such as Magee’s Donegal tweed. Her graduate collections ‘Twists ‘n’ Thoughts’ and ‘Extended Boundaries’ earned her the Innovation Award from Caroline Kilkenny and led to collaborations with Dance Cabaret Couture and Donegal photographers Terrie Burton and Tommy McCafferty. Her debut look for Ireland Fashion Week continues this journey of wearable storytelling. Her slow-fashion model includes one-of-a-kind or rentable statement garments - bespoke, certified, and steeped in narrative. She designs for high-end, gender-fluid creatives across Europe’s cultural capitals, especially those who see clothing as both armour and art.

“Dare to Howl was born from a need to express what couldn’t be spoken, and this platform allows that ‘howl’ to be heard. I’m honoured to bespoke the minds of the fashion world.”

Chloé Burke

Graduate of Griffith College Dublin – BA (Hons) in Fashion Design

Hailing from Naas, Co. Kildare, Chloé Burke is the founder of Chloé Burke Studios, a brand merging sustainability with storytelling. Inspired by her dance background, literature, and memory, Chloé transforms unconventional materials - construction wire, recycled thread, and deadstock fabrics - into wearable expressions of creativity. Her accessory line, created from leftover garment scraps and hot glue, completes her sustainable ethos. Chloé’s work is made-to-order or rentable, offering garments tailored to individual bodies and stories. While still early in her journey, her mentor and advocate, designer Roisin Linnane, has been instrumental in supporting her practice. Chloé’s audience includes women aged 20-40 in Ireland and globally who seek thoughtful, enduring fashion that values artistry, ethics, and imaginative design.

“I’m so excited to see both emerging and established Irish designers getting the opportunity to showcase their work in Ireland.”

Mia Walsh

Graduate of National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Dublin – BA (Hons) in Fashion Design

Working from a studio in Balbriggan funded by the Arts Council, Mia Walsh is a multidisciplinary designer shaping fashion as rebellion, ritual, and raw self-expression. Mia’s debut collection MIASMA - featured at the IFTAs (worn by actress Hazel Doupe), in IRL Magazine, and on tour with Lie Ning - merges punk aesthetics with handcrafted detail to explore gender, emotion, and identity. Mia creates garments as symbolic armour: emotionally durable, genderless, and seasonless. The one-of-a-kind statement pieces (crocheted headpieces, deconstructed vests, printed T-shirts) are available for editorial rental, with a more accessible up-cycled ready-to-wear line launching through an upcoming pop-up showcase. Mia’s audience spans cultural outsiders, queer creatives, and anti-fast fashion advocates of all ages who build wardrobes from instinct, not approval - individuals who wear narrative and texture like second skin.

“It’s an honour to be a part of the first Ireland Fashion Week, a vital space for independent voices to reshape the future of fashion.”

The Irish Sea Graduate Showcase 🌊

Each of these designers will present one look in the Irish Sea Graduate Show - a momentous runway debut celebrating the very best of Ireland’s graduate talent. More than clothing, their work is statement, substance, and soul - each piece an invitation to feel, reflect, and reimagine what fashion can be.