Ireland Fashion Week, the very first of its kind, begins next week on October 6th.
The week will be full of shows, talks and exhibitions of fashion, both past and present, in key locations in Dublin, Connemara and Meath.
Entrepreneur and founder of Irish Fashion Week Ashley McDonnell said that after working in Paris for around 12 years with brands like Christian Dior, she decided to “bring this magic home”.
“We have incredible initiatives on the island from Galway to Limerick to Dublin,” she told Lunchtime Live.
“They had Dublin Independent Fashion Week last week, so there are loads of incredible initiatives.
“What we struggle to do, I think, in Ireland, is put on these mega productions that are going to bring that international press and media and catapult brands into the international spotlight.
“Which ultimately is what we need from a business perspective - you should be aiming for 90% export as a fashion brand, that’s going to get you a very healthy business.”
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Ms McDonnell said that apart from an incredible amount of effort, an incredible amount of money has also been invested in the event.
“Most fashion weeks in the world, if you want to feature in their program, you pay,” she said.
“So, Paris Fashion Week, you want to be on the program, it’s €20,000; you have to be accepted first and then you pay and then you produce your entire show.
“It costs millions for most of the Paris shows, whereas we did it the other way around; brands apply, out of 54 brands, we fully fund 46 of their participation in the week.
“That’s because we knew we needed to invest in our side.”
Aoife McNamara
Irish designer Aoife McNamara said Irish Fashion Week is “huge” for herself and others in the industry.
“So, for me, this would be my first showcase of over 20 looks,” she said.
“Normally, I would do around 10 looks, but this year we’re one of the solo shows – which is such an honour to be part of.
“We’re going to be showcasing in the incredible Ballinihinch Castle in Connemara in Galway, and we’re going to be showcasing over 20 looks.
“As you can imagine, we have been working very, very hard over the past four-to-five months on producing the collection and the show.”
Ms McNamara said that for her, this is her brand’s “biggest show ever”.
According to her, an event like this will massively boost Irish fashion on the global stage.
Main image: Ireland Fashion Week Campaign Shoot - Shot by Christian Tierney. Rhasidat Adeleke, Fontaines D.C.'s Carlos O'Connell, supermodel Thalia Heffernan, and actors Clinton Liberty and Zara Devlin - the faces of Ireland's first-ever Fashion Week campaign.
