‘No one is going to cheer louder for Irish design than Irish people', says creator of Ireland's first Fashion Week

Irish Independent

08-05-2025

Ashley McDonnell (31), who hails from Craughwell, Co Galway, said the country's first couture fashion week – being held in Dublin from October 6 to 10 – will draw from her experience with French and Irish luxury brands.
'I want to make sure that we're able to bring as much of the public into this experience as possible,' Ms McDonnell said.
'We'll be doing reruns after most of the main shows, which will allow members of the public to buy tickets to come to the shows.
'Prices for matinees for example would be noticeably lower,' she added.
The former Smurfit Business School and HEC Paris graduate, is now a director with luxury beauty brand Puig, and wants to bring her own experience to Fashion Week.
'Designers and creatives in Ireland don't always have access to the culture and education that designers in the UK, France, and other countries may have, so it's important to keep things as accessible as possible,' she said.
'As an Irish person who's had this very fortunate international experience, I feel an obligation to bring as much of that back as possible during Ireland Fashion Week.'
Ireland Fashion week will open and close in the nation's capital, but shows will be outsourced across various counties.
'We want to make sure, not only are we able to engage with local communities and local designers, but that we're also able to showcase the beauty of Ireland as an island, not just what's happening in Dublin,' Ms McDonnell said.
New designers will be able to submit their works to be featured in one of seven shows throughout the week, across Flagship, Spotlight, Graduate and Independent and Emerging designer shows.
The three flagship shows will have various themes such as Irish heritage, modern heritage and contemporary design.
The collections featured in the smaller 'spotlight shows' will draw from sportswear and streetwear trends.
The penultimate and final shows will be graduate shows inspired by the wonders of the Irish sea and an understanding of Irish roots.
'The most important part of a runway is first and foremost, the collection. What you actually see coming down the runway. That needs to have that wow effect,' Ms McDonnell said.
'But if you don't have an equally strong creative team made up of brilliant photographers and videographers, you're going to really limit yourselves on how you're able to communicate that show.'
She said the final element needed to ignite the chemistry on a runway is brought by attendees.
'Every single show is going to have a curated guest list that, one, reflects the actual ethos of the designer that's showcasing,' she said.
'Two, [it] is going to help amplify the story and the collection through reaching their audience. Each designer is going to be very unique, so it's really important for us that we have a different attendee list per show as well.'
Ms McDonnell credits a noticeable Irish fashion renaissance to 'the success of individual Irish designs and people [like herself] who continue to shout about it'.
'Jessica Livett and Anne O'Shea are two women that really champion Irish design. We don't stop talking about Irish designers, we'll constantly wear Irish designs and promote them as best as we can,' she said.
'It's only when people in Ireland become advocates for Irish design that it'll become something recognised internationally as well.'
The entrepreneur's decision to launch herself into this venture came from the realisation that no amount of effort put into showcasing Irish design would bear fruit if people in Ireland were not familiar enough with them to advocate for them internationally.
'No one is going to cheer louder for Irish design than Irish people who are in Ireland and Irish people living abroad,' Ms McDonnell said.
With this in mind, she chose those who cheer the loudest for Irish fashion as members of the board and jury, including stylist Zeda, former Irish Independent Fashion editor Bairbre Power, designer Aoife McNamara, and lead singer of Picture This, Ryan Hennessy.
'I paid close attention to the gaps I had in knowledge, experiences and expertise,' Ms McDonnell said.
'I have been in the business world of luxury for quite some time now, and one of the most important things is your board.'
Running until May 23, established or emerging Irish designers, and students of design, are urged to apply for Ireland Fashion Week shows.
To anyone who might still be unsure of whether to apply and have their works walk down the national runway come October, Ms McDonnell added: 'Just apply. We're going to give you all of the resources, help and support necessary to create something absolutely spectacular.'