Styled By Niamh: Designer Doireann Healy on celeb clientele and her surprising greatest fear

Extra.ie​

5 days ago

Fashion designer Doireann Healy is quite the character.
A native of County Kerry, Doireann lived in rural Kenmare until age five, but spent her formative years in the Cork Gaeltacht area.
However, despite a childhood spent in the countryside and being surrounded by farms and fields as far as the eye could see, in adulthood Doireann developed a fear of a staple farmyard animal. Begley & Bowie sweater €120Adidas Gazelle sneakers €120
'I have a huge fear of cows,' Doireann laughed. 'I grew up in the countryside and I was never afraid of them until I read some articles in recent years about how dangerous they are and now they terrify me.'
Fear of bovines aside, Doireann's immersion in nature was to prove her inspiration for her clothing brand Begley & Bowie – which is named after her two beloved pooches.
Despite Begley & Bowie being a relative newcomer to the Irish fashion market, Doireann has amassed quite the faithful following and counts actress Amy Huberman and presenter Angela Scanlon among her celebrity clientele. Begley & Bowie Tily bomber jacket €315
Light grey flower slogan tee €42
'My pieces have been worn by Amy Huberman, who purchased at one of my first pop-up shops in Dublin,' says Doireann proudly. 'And Helen Cody, Muireann O'Connell, Triona McCarthy, Sabrina Hill, Nadia El Ferdaoussi and Emma Doran have all bought some of my pieces.'
Doireann hails from a large family and when she was young she flitted between school in Cork and family time at her uncle's bar in Kenmare town.
And despite developing her love of fashion design at college in Dublin, Doireann found herself returning to her old stomping ground of Kenmare – where she now sells her fashion brand just doors away from her uncle's pub in the picturesque town.
'I am from Kenmare as my mother was from here and she was from a large family of eight, so I have lots of cousins and family here,' she says.
'We moved not far over the border when I was five to the Cork Gaeltacht, where my dad was from, so all of my education was through Irish. We were over and back all of the time and I started working summers here in Kenmare at 16 and – voila – I'm still here.'
From the Gaeltacht Doireann went to Dublin to study art and design and it was here she caught the fashion bug.
'I qualified in interior design, which I still love, but art and fashion were also huge loves of mine.
'I had always been drawing and illustrating since my early teens. I'm very into the visual and always have been since I was a child. Sweater and linen skirt both Begley & Bowie
'I studied screen printing in Dublin and worked with textiles including Irish linens in Belfast. I originally released those illustrations as art prints and then progressed to textiles. I now work with all types of textiles.'
Like many fledgling designers Doireann was producing, selling and packaging her designs from her home – but Begley & Bowie quickly began to go global, so she decided that her brand needed a home of its own outside of her Kenmare pad.
'I opened my store in July 2021. The brand was selling worldwide and customers coming to Kenmare would message to see if I had a store – and I hadn't a base.
'At this stage I had a lot of Irish stockists too so I needed a space, and I found a premises that I loved and I opened the store the day before my collection launched in Brown Thomas Dublin.'
The quirky, playful nature of Begley & Bowie combined with the eye-catching colour palette is what make Doireann's designs stand out in a very crowded clothing marketplace.
'I think because Begley & Bowie is full of colour and joy that my pieces suit every age. I design both children's and adult clothing and customers – particularly in Ireland – love colour.
'I also design a range of Irish linens with a neon pop, all made in Dublin, and they are very popular too particularly with US and French customers.'
'I tend to see colour everywhere and I notice colour combinations that work in everyday objects and places.
'I'm hugely into nature and I walk Reenagross here everyday in Kenmare and I feel like I see a different pop of colour every time.
'At the moment the purples of the rhododendron have filled the woods as they are in bloom and the contrast with the green is stunning.'
Of her own style Doireann is a mix-and-match, splish-splash kind of dresser. Quirky, free spirited and blended beautifully with her bubbly personality.
'I'm very particular about clothing and my style. I love colour but nothing too chaotic or loud – just beautiful pops of colour,' she admits.
'I am also very into the quality of my pieces and I would rather purchase one good piece than a few that won't last or wash well. I love to mix styles too.'
Summer Lovin' Adidas Gazelle sneakers €120
Summer is here – and that means free flowing skirts, daisy duke denim shorts, loose fitting tees and lots and lots and lots of colour. Summer should be the easiest time of the year to dress your best (there's no need to dither over whether it's a duffle or overcoat kind of day).
It's easy-peasy summer breezy dressing of simply jumping into a skirt, shorts or linen trousers with summer sandals or scruffy sneakers and off you pop – looking like Little Miss Sunshine herself. Although that said, this is Ireland and while we have just enjoyed some unseasonably sun-filled weeks, rainy spells are upon us.
So investing in a fun raincoat will not only add an extra dimension to your daywear it will also keep you dry and can be scrunched up and stuffed into a bag when the sun reappears.
Stereo-Stripes
The commonly held sartorial belief is that that vertical stripes are slimming while horizontal stripes can be unflatteringly fattening. However, to quote that dapper dresser himself Donald J Trump 'fake news, fake news'. The contrary is in fact true, and horizontal stripes are more flattering.
And if you don't believe me, then trust the science…
The stripes fashion myth was debunked back in 1925 by a German psychologist Hermann von Helmholtz. And hey, who wouldn't trust a guy called Hermann when it comes to fashion choices.
Known as the Helmholtz illusion, Helmholtz's explanation of the illusion was that a filled out area looks longer than an unfilled area of the same size.
So rock those horizontals – the more colourful the better – with pride.
Say it with pride
I am a sucker for slogan tees, though I actively steer clear from any slogan tees beating the 'be kind' or 'Save the planet' blah blah nonsense.
I prefer instead to have my style say something with a bit more individuality and depth. These Begley & Bowie slogan tees are bright, bubbly and bespoke.
Come GAA final season, ditch your county jersey for something with a bit more swag like a Begley & bowie county name tee.
My other all-time favourite slogan tee website is Truffle Shuffle which have an eclectic range of 80's cartoons like The Care Bears – right up to today's hit movies like Lilo & Stitch.
Jeepers Sneakers
Big chunky platform trainers appear to have – pun intended – run their course. Instead, petite plimsoll sneakers are back en vogue.
The slim sneakers are more ladylike and far less chunky and can add that girlie touch to any outfit.
Erica Stoll, the wife of champion golfer Rory McIlroy, exemplified this type of style when she was course-side cheering on Rory when he won the Masters at Augusta.
While Rory took home the green jacket, Erica's sartorial win was a simple, yet, standout pair of Golden Goose trainers.
At €490, Erica's particular pair of runners are pricey but there is a vast range of affordable similar type runners to choose from like Doireann's pink Adidas Gazelles.
Photography by Evan DohertyHair by Jessica DowdallMakeup by Ciara O'Toole
Shot on location at Dunloe Hotel & Gardens, Killarney, Co Kerry