Florence Pugh is among Michael Stewart’s celebrity fans as the Standing Ground founder prepares his haute couture debut in Paris on Monday. The Irish designer is bringing a craft-heavy collection to one of fashion’s most exacting stages, with support already coming from names that travel well beyond his own label.
Stewart said, "I am asking for excellence in making, finish and craft," while his atelier in London had 15 people helping complete the collection. He added, "We are now working at weekends and have some lace-makers working offside."
LSAD and the RCA
Stewart, who is from Kilkishen in east Clare, graduated from LSAD and the RCA before establishing Standing Ground in 2022. He won the LVMH Savoir Faire prize in 2024, a sign that his handwork-led approach has already crossed into industry recognition rather than remaining a local success story.
That matters because his collection is not built for easy scale. A full-length dress in Carrickmacross lace took more than 20 lacemakers to complete, and Stewart said, "It’s as close as I will go into print" when describing that piece.
Naomi Campbell and Tilda Swinton
Stewart’s celebrity fans also include Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell and Tilda Swinton. Swinton has already been seen in a dramatic blue piece at an event in Seoul, a red piece at the Cannes Festival and a corseted black leather and velvet piece from his last collection in September.
Stewart said, "The great thing is working with clients and knowing what you need to do with them. If someone wears something of mine, they are my greatest advertisements. I like talented people," which is the clearest read on why these public wearings matter before a couture debut.
London to Paris
Stewart also said, "I am all analogue. We don’t have a computer, there is nothing digital as I am completely against this – I don’t need it. It’s about the hand of the maker, things moulded over the body." That stance sits neatly beside the collection’s technical load: hundreds of hours of handwork and stitching, with the atelier still running at weekend pace.
The Paris showing now becomes the first real test of whether that level of making can carry Standing Ground from admired craft label to a stronger couture position. Florence Pugh’s name in the fan list is the signal to watch: the work already has cultural reach, and Monday will show whether Paris gives it a wider one.
