As with all our designs at Hope & Ivy, the creation process begins long before the dresses hit your shelves. First discussions with Maeve and the Love Cherish team began almost a year ago, when we realised that a selection of beautiful wildflowers native to Ireland, including fuchsias, spring gentian, and sea asters would provide the perfect basis for a collaboration that was as personal to our print handwriting and love of floral embroidery as it was to Love Cherish’s ethos and brand journey. 

With such beautiful landscapes to work with, H&I print designer Laura set about hand-painting a spectacular scenic piece featuring rolling green hills, a towering castle, and hundreds of individual botanicals, taking inspiration from the Cliffs of Moher and the swathes of flowers that blanket the cliffs. Once completed, these were then ready to be translated into repeating prints and embroideries for the silhouettes we'd hand-selected.

With a visit from Maeve over to our East London office to solidify the plans for the collection, 7 key styles soon took shape, with a colour palette of vivid pinks, bright blues, and vibrant greens. The finished result means that each dress tells its own story of Ireland and encompasses the magic of its wildflowers; from the button-front Alamy which highlights the best of the romantic Irish coast across its cascading skirt for a stand-out special occasion dress, and The Heather, where hand-illustrated florals were transposed into intricate embroideries, now decorating a navy base for a stunning, feminine design that’s perfect for this transitional time of year. 

On a brisk January Morning, the Hope & Ivy team made their way to Stansted Airport to travel to Cork. As the collection is a celebration of the Irish landscape, it was so special to be able to share in the excitement of the launch, with Maeve and her Love Cherish Team, in the place where it all began.

Once Beth, Sarah, and print designer Laura landed, they were greeted by Maeve's glam squad to get ready in their Hope & Ivy finest, and then headed over to the venue - Seventy Seven in Cork - to help set up the event with freebies for guests to take away with them.

Before long, dozens of guests had descended upon the venue to see the pre-launch preview of the collection, with models poised to show the key features of each design. Maeve, Beth & Sarah talked through the conception of the collection, sharing how it had been a relationship long in the making, and how the pairing of Love Cherish & Hopy & Ivy for a collaboration had come about quite organically. After sharing the design features and concept of the collection, the guests were able to gain a greater understanding of the inspiration behind each dress; the subject matter of the prints and embroideries and how it had all come together.

Finally, guests of the event were able to mingle with the team and ask questions whilst devouring a scrumptious afternoon tea. Our team relished being able to speak directly to our customers and Love Cherish's alike, particularly with a sparkling pink cocktail in hand, and surrounded by bespoke floral arrangements in keeping with the season.