The body in motion has long fascinated Sinéad O’Dwyer. For spring 2027, a central piece was a shimmering sequin-covered slip dress onto which blurred photographs of bodies in the throes of performance were transposed. The photos, lensed by Ottilie Landmark, originated from Knead, a movement piece O’Dwyer developed with choreographer Grace Nicol at London’s Barbican Centre in 2025, which explored the dynamics of watching and being watched, and the desire to be seen. The influence of that dance performance could be felt throughout Notice Me, a collection concerned with how clothes cultivate, capitulate to, or coalesce with bodily brilliance.
First presented in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Raphael Court, and subsequently captured in an intimate lookbook by Landmark, the collection traced an ongoing shift in O’Dwyer’s approach to making clothes. “There’s a lot of newness, but I suppose for me it’s in a direction of making things a bit more easy to buy and wear,” she explained. O’Dwyer’s practice is built around richly technical, body-inclusive construction; here, she refined her methods rather than relinquished them.
A dance of spectacle and practicality played out most in tailoring, a growing category for O’Dwyer. A double-breasted jacket with a masculine silhouette featured a sensual inward curve at the waist, while zippered jackets and corset tops, paired with matching trousers and hip-skimming pencil skirts, amplified the utilitarian approach. O’Dwyer developed the tailoring by padding out the back and seat of a mannequin, using that exaggerated curvature to inform the cut of jackets and shirting that retained their masculine, oversized proportions.
Meanwhile, pourable sequin dresses with sweat-like surfaces were constructed on stretch mesh, and satin-y, icy blue and green slip dresses and other fine knit gowns moved freely while retaining sculptural shapes. Sporty stretch fabrics were put to work on pale dresses and separates, with softly gathered bustlines and shapes that caressed rather than encased. The pattern cutting, O’Dwyer explained, was intended to accommodate a wider range of proportions without relying on fixed cup sizes or extensive alterations. The aforementioned zippers allow wearers to adjust fit and exposure. Micro-shorts with doubled waistbands introduced a more athletic note. Clothes with a certain toughness were offset by the delicate details of lingerie, and even sheer mesh bralettes were adorned with tiny satin buttons and long, trailing ribbons.
Those buttons were among the collection’s most labor-intensive achievements. O’Dwyer has been developing an embroidery technique in which they are chain-stitched into the garment as it is constructed, with approximately 4,000 featuring on each of two intricate long-sleeved gowns. Such pieces now belong firmly to the designer’s bespoke and made-to-order offering, rather than ready-to-wear. It is a pragmatic distinction for a house where occasionwear is becoming an increasingly important part of the business.
This was a season that built upon a new brand identity, including an updated logo, and reflected the designer’s awareness that the customers who have worn her label since its beginnings have grown up, too. The collection will be sold exclusively through her own e-commerce platform, giving O’Dwyer greater control over pricing and the pace of its release. Rather than abandoning the craftsmanship that has distinguished her work, she is finding more appropriate homes for her techniques, while making the rest of the wardrobe more accessible. O’Dwyer’s allegiance to the ever-amorphous body remains as insistent as ever, but spring 2027 suggested that accommodating its realities can be every bit as compelling as showcasing them.
