From Doja Cat wearing one of her custom outfits to Megan Fox and Addison Rae rocking her fur hats – and an ensemble in the making for one of the buzziest acts performing at the moment – Rachel Maguire is fast becoming the edgy cool girl's designer.
It fact, it was almost one year ago that Doja Cat messaged Maguire, who is the face and hands behind her fashion brand Rashhiiid, asking for a custom look while the Dublin designer was launching at BT Create 2022.
We caught up with her at this year's BT Create, an ambitious showcase of up-and-coming Irish creative design, now running until 20 August in Brown Thomas's Grafton St store, where she has launched a new line of full-length faux furs coats alongside her jackets, bags and hats.
"It's definitely a very unique experience because I'm usually hidden away in my parents' garage not talking to anyone unless it's a Friday night", Maguire said of the event, relishing the opportunity to meet other up-and-coming creators.
"It's a lot more profound than if you're just seeing their page online. I love touching their designs, being inspired by their designs." She shows off a pair of purple gemstone earrings she'd just bought from Magpie Rose, another designer showcasing at the event. "They matched my outfit."
The showcase is a special one for Maguire, not least because of the fateful Doja DM. "I'll be celebrating that for sure. She's my screensaver", she says.
"She definitely flipped my world upside down in a way. I feel like before I was working very hard on my brand and it didn't feel like anyone was listening before Doja Cat and she sprinkled her magic dust on me.
"I knew that I was onto something and I knew that I was in it for the long run, this wasn't just a hobby for me. This is a seven-day-week commitment. I'm in very deep. I love it, I'm sewing until late at night, it's my passion and I'm very grateful to have found something that I love, that is a hobby. It's taken me away from the wildness of the world and I'm very grateful for that."
Kari on set for her "Me First" music video styled by me wearing custom Rashhiiid pic.twitter.com/XD0e6YONNX
— MALU (@musexmalu) February 8, 2023
Maguire's designs are bold, expressive, edgy, and a little bit punk, threads of inspiration that she says comes from her personality.
"I'm not the type of person to walk down the road and see the front of a door and design 10 dresses from that, which people in college were so talented to be able to do.
"I am inspired a lot by the feeling of pushing boundaries, walking into a room and people looking at you and your designs are loud and they speak without words, whether people like them or hate them. They're saying something.
"My fashion is a direct link to my personality, it's how I express myself and I like to say that my designs do the same."
Keeping her designs handmade in Ireland is a key focus for her too, particularly if they're reaching clients in far-off places like Hollywood.
"Every single one of my labels on my coats, my jackets, my bags, my hats, they all say handmade in Ireland. That inspires me a lot to keep it here, as difficult as it is, to keep it made here because it's very rare to open a full-length faux fur coat and see handmade in Ireland."
As for what dream client she has on her mood board, Maguire answers definitively: "Rihanna."
"I'm making a custom coat at the minute for Kali Uchis for her tour and a matching outfit for underneath. I can't get too excited because there's been too many projects I've gotten excited about and they fall through. That's just how it is with celebrities, but if I see Kali Uchis walking onto a world stage all over Latin America in my faux fur coats and designs, that will be a career high for me."
