Mona Sweeney from Achill Island who studies in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) has won the Vodafone Student Design Award 2013 at the Vodafone DIT Fashion Show in Vicar Street from an impressive shortlist of ten designs.

Mona picked up a cash prize of €2,500 for her winning design which was worn by Alannah Beirne from Naas.

The theme of this year’s Vodafone DIT Fashion Show, now in its 10th year and attended by 1,000 people, was “House of Chaos: A Twisted Tale". The judging panel consisted of Ireland's top stylist Maria Fusco, broadcaster Brendan Courtney (who was also MC at the show), fashion editor at the Irish Independent and Weekend Magazine Bairbre Power, Arnotts marketing manager Lou Conlon who started the first show with fellow DIT students, and designer and previous winner of the student design element of the Vodafone DIT Fashion Show Umit Kutluk.

Winner alright: Mona's design

Mona, who is in her third year of a BA in Art & Design (Textiles) in GMIT's Centre for Creative Arts and Media, added: "I'm absolutely thrilled to have won this award, having seen the unbelievable talent on show in this year's DIT Vodafone Fashion Awards Final. It's been an amazing experience to go through the whole design process from sketch to catwalk.

Speaking at the show, Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager at Vodafone Ireland said: “Vodafone Ireland is proud to be associated again with this truly inspiring event, which showcases the future of Irish design. The Student Design competition has developed a strong reputation over its ten years for recognising young fashion talent and it’s evident from the creativity that was on show this evening that the future of Irish fashion is safe in the hands of these talented designers. We commend Mona Sweeney, who was a worthy winner of the Vodafone Student Design Award, and extend our congratulations to all finalists for the exceptional high standard of their designs.”

Speaking about her outfit and theme Mona said; “The work is centred on the dual themes of vulnerability and protection and fashion as armour. When we choose our clothes we choose how the world perceives us. With this in mind I wanted to create a piece which demonstrates this concept. My source of inspiration is armour strategies found in nature, arachnids insects and crustaceans. These protective impenetrable exoskeletons protect soft but vital viscera. The social necessity to mask vulnerabilities is realised through sculptural body millinery which surrounds the shoulder area, protecting the body within.”