Ríon Hannora presents Chapter 7: Sex Before Marriage

Designer Ríon Hannora will present her first-ever solo runway show, Chapter 7: Sex Before Marriage, on September 25th at Bewley’s Café, Grafton Street, as part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week 2025. Unveiling a unisex bridal collection that blends radical politics with playful irreverence.

This collection celebrates everything good about marriage - the outfits, the love, the communal joy - while discarding outdated baggage: compulsory heteronormativity, religious beliefs, shame around sexuality, and patriarchal traditions that treat women as property. The result is a wedding without the weird stuff: serious yet humorous, transformative for some, a nuisance for others, much like wedding ceremony itself.

The show takes its name from Radical Frivolity, a concept that marries the seriousness of political resistance with the lightheartedness of rebellion. Using fashion as both celebration and critique, Ríon Hannora challenges the compulsory nature of weddings — particularly Irish weddings — while reframing bridalwear as a tool for self-expression rather than social expectation.

Alas, nothing happens in isolation! This fashion performance will be accompanied by music from members of Biird, as well as floristry design from Nettle Design, bespoke jewellery from Riley Haus and paintings by The Paddy Critchley.

This space is wheelchair accessible. While attendees will be asked to stand for the performance, chairs will be avaialable upon request.

Host or Publisher Ríon Hannora