Ruth standing infront of people giving talk

About Ruth Griffin

She’s enlivening Dublin’s historic fashion scene.” - Image Magazine

Hello, I'm Ruth. I'm a fashion historian, writer and broadcaster with a BA in Fashion Design from the National College of Art & Design in Dublin and an MA in History & Culture of Fashion from London College of Fashion. I'm passionate about Irish and in particular Dublin’s fashion history and have developed my knowledge and expertise for over 15 years by researching fashion and its relationship to the city of Dublin.

Photo credit: Tra My Nguyen Hoang

Talks & Tours

I’ve created fashion history events for Dublin Fringe Festival and run a popular programme of fashion history tours in Dublin city which looks at the often lost history of Irish fashion design, businesses and icons. I’ve also contributed to talks and tours at the Dublin Festival of History and at the city’s finest cultural institutions from the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Museum, the National College of Art & Design and The Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin.

Broadcasting

I’m regularly asked to speak on radio and TV. I was fashion curator for RTÉ’s National Treasures programme which was a travelling roadshow, a digital archive, museum exhibition all folded into a four-part television programme where I revealed the history and the story behind the nation’s most treasured fashion objects. I have also been a contributor to several documentaries from the incredible story of Man on Bridge, The Story & Photos of Arthur Fields by EZ Films where I commented on the fashion within the photographs on Ciara Nic Chormaic’s TG4 documentary, Snáithe, The Story of Irish Fashion, where I revealed the hidden fashion history behind the streets of the Liberties.

I continue to be a contributor to radio programmes on fashion history speaking on trending topics with contributions ranging from talking about The History of Swimwear on The Ray Darcy Show to writing a short radio piece on the History of the Skirt, for RTÉ Radio 1, The Business Show.

Fashion History Writing

This site began in the age of blogging and developed into a place where I could share my thoughts about fashion history in the city, while it still records stories and findings I also write for print and online publications from Image Magazine where I recently wrote a feature for the spring 2023 issue on “Tweed’s New Mood”  and contribute to RTE.ie  on Dublin’s fashion history with features on “The Glamorous History of Dublin’s Lost Department Stores,” and  “A Brief History of Dublin’s Seaside Fashions.

Working at:

Brown Thomas

Previously at:

Liberty London

Matches

Browns London

Featured in:

Grazia, Elle, Image magazine, The Irish Times, Sunday Business Post, The Gloss Magazine

Brands I’ve worked with:

British Vogue, ST Telegraph, The Irish Times, Swarovski Crystal, Failte Ireland, Austin Reed, Show Media, Topshop, NCAD

TV Appearances:

2022

RTÉ The Way We Were, Season 1, The Way We Shopped 

Contributor

2018

RTÉ National Treasures

4 Part Series, Fashion Curator

TG4 Snáithe, The Story of Irish Fashion

Contributor

2017

EX Films/RTÉ Man on Bridge, The Story & Photos of Arthur Fields

Contributor

Radio Appearances:

2022

A Brief History of Swimwear

May, RTÉ Radio 1, The Ray Darcy Show

2022

History of Male Grooming

October,  RTÉ Radio 1, The Business Show

2015

History of the Skirt

RTÉ Radio 1, The Business Show

Writing/Print:

2023

Image Magazine, Spring Issue

Feature on Tweed’s New Mood

Writing/Online:

RTÉ 

The Glamorous History of Dublin’s Lost Department Stores

RTÉ
A Brief History of Dublin's Seaside Fashions

RTÉ

National Treasures- Ireland’s Style History

Festivals & Talks

2019

Dublin Festival of History 

  • Fabric & Fashion, From Silk Weaving to Singer, talk on Dublin Fashion & The City, at the City Assembly House

  • The Wilde’s & Dress Reform, tour with Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute, Quinnipiac University, Connecticut

2018

National Treasures, National Museum of Ireland, Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar

Lecture on what fashion objects tell us about our history?

Trinity HistoryCon, Dressing History, Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin

Panel discussion with costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh on the relationship between the study of history and popular media

2015

Culture Night Dublin 

Fashion tour of Dublin by horse and carriage 

Christmas on the Square, Merrion Square 

Fashion tour & talk in the Royal Society of Antiquaries at 6 Merrion Square

2013

The Science Gallery,  Trinity College Dublin

Panel Discussion: RETROCYCLE: THE OSCILLATIONS AND FEEDBACK LOOPS OF FASHION 

Retrocycle assembled a team of fashion fans and experts to deconstruct what constitutes a retro fashion, the historical moments that shaped it. Hosted by stylist and broadcaster Darren Kennedy from HELP MY STYLE, and featured a panel that included fashion writer, stylist and historian Ruth Griffin, and NUI Maynooth anthropologist Pauline Garvey. 

2011

Dublin Fringe Festival 

Series of talks and tours

The Lost Fashion History of South William Street, curated and produced an event for Dublin’s Fringe festival which included a series of talks, tours and workshops celebrating the lost fashion businesses and skills which were once happening on South William Street- Dublin’s original garment district.

Education:

NCAD, BA Fashion & Textile Design

London College of Fashion, MA History & Culture of Fashion

Gaiety School of Acting

Lir Theatre

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