The magic of Ireland is lost on few. Among its rolling green hills and thousand-year-old stone villages live fates and faeries alike – supposedly, or not, depending on who you ask.
The inspiration and mythos of this place lies in its natural splendor: a brush of early-autumn grass against the hand; the pleasant cool of royal ferns laced with dew; a carpet of velvet moss under bare feet. Tucked in the forests of Wicklow, an emerald county along the Irish Sea, find Lainey Keogh and her cashmere fantasy.
Described as a “Spinner of Dreams,” Lainey and her small team of local artisans hand-knit each piece using traditional Irish weaving and knitting techniques. Though they are no stranger to the heavier knits required by winter – many of us are familiar with the Aran stitch used to protect from the elements – quite a few of their methods are influenced by the country’s heritage of lace-making.
In Lainey’s collection, she dances between the worlds of plush and light cashmere, using modes such as feather and slip stitching to create her sensual textures. Within her woven oeuvre, find undulating chevrons, floral jacquards and delicately webbed diamonds that drape like butter against the skin. The unifying theme is color – the yarns are steeped in baths of solely organic, environmentally-friendly dyes to create this rich palette.
To live and grow in a place such as this is to be wholly formed by natural influence. The inspiration of Wicklow’s forests, a province vast and ancient, is omnipresent in every stitch of a Lainey original. In her Cocoon coat, find a tapestry of vines along the forest floor; in her ponchos, the wind-blown sky above its dense canopy. To wrap yourself in her cashmere is to immerse yourself in the land of daydreams, and embody Lainey’s vision of fire, fantasy and the feminine divine.
