Menswear MA graduate and designer Robyn Lynch presented her new Spring/Summer 2021 collection at London Fashion Week 2020. Inspired by her Irish roots, the new collection introduces womenswear into her designs for the first time.

Robyn Lynch's clothing designs shown at London Fashion Week 2020

Robyn started the collection thinking about cycling, and was inspired by Taz Darling’s photographs of the Tour de Ireland in 2008. These ideas led her to think about the logos and branding printed on cycling attire, which inspired her to use logos of the companies on the Baldoyle Industrial Estate in Dublin, who have all helped Robyn in her work since she started her BA degree in 2011. 

The logos include the Pearl Deli run by her family, David Tomas Design, who lent Robyn her first sewing machine, Franey Hardwood Products, who built a display stand for Robyn’s BA in 2016, and Baldoyle Print, who continue to print all of Robyn’s linesheets and lookbooks. 

For her first season of womenswear, Robyn showcased cycling jackets, zip-ups, cable knits, skirts and shorts, as well as hybrid pieces. The skirts were cut short and long, including a bib-front mini skirt sliced at the sides with mesh lining and a long nylon skirt with contrast side panels and an elasticated waist. The shorts in her collection were cut loose with panels of towelling and nylon, and another set sliced at the side with cropped Lycra leggings beneath.

To show the collection, one of Taz Darling’s photographs served as a backdrop for a film shot by Danyal Fox. This was mixed with footage from the Baldoyle Industrial Estate, shot especially by Robyn’s dad.

Talking about her collection, Robyn said: “I’ve always worn the pieces I’ve made, so I wanted to expand the wardrobe and make womenswear for the first time. It’s exciting to explore my language in this new way, with the same point of view, the same humour and sensibility.”

Professor Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design, added: “It’s fantastic to see Robyn launch womenswear this season to show alongside her menswear at London Fashion Week. Her continued success and partnership with Rapha is a testament to her exceptional design talent.”

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