Nestled away in a pastel-hued cottage in Adare, Co Limerick, Aoife McNamara is undoubtedly one of the country's best kept fashion secrets.
A thoroughy sustainable fashion brand, handmade in Ireland using Irish heritage materials with a contemporary twist, the Aoife McNamara brand has been a go-to for celebrities and fashion lovers since its foundation in 2019.
However, with a new pop-up in Dublin's Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, in collaboration with Chupi, McNamara is finally bringing her designs to the city, as well as a conscious movement class and cacao ceremony and vision boarding workshop over the weekend.
We caught up with McNamara to discuss the pop-up, running from September 19-24, presenting at New York Fashion Week and why building a lifestyle and community element into the brand has been so important.
Meeting the customers, especially those that haven't been able to make the fashion pilgrimage to her thatched cottage in Adare, has always been a focus for the designer.
"For me, it's not about just trying on our buying clothes. For me, it's all about creating a consumer experience, creating an educational experience on how we can educate them on our journey, how we can educate them on our fabric."
McNamara sees herself as more of an "educator" than just a designer, she says, and the brand has been distinct in its efforts to invite customers into the literal and figurative space of the brand.
Early into her career, she said she "was 100% designer, whereas I feel like in the past two years, my role has switched to being an educator or, I suppose, inspiring people, helping people to make change and then also being a designer".
"I feel like you can only do it so much through a sewing tag on a clothes. And I think having people in store, educating them on natural dying mending, conscious movement mornings, where we really feel like conscious mindset starts from within it, it's very hard to get that across on the label.
"Even before they buy our clothes, how can I actually bring them into our class and help inspire them to make change? That's how I suppose I started and I found my 'why.'"
Her cottage frequently hosts talks, gigs and workshops that enforce the idea of mindful consumption and sustainability, and a recent impact report showed that 94% of her customers are in Ireland, and that their carbon footprint is estimated at 5.33 tonnes of CO2, a fraction of what major fashion brands put out.
"We're not perfect. It'll take us a long time. I don't think we'll ever get there, but it's all stepping stones. And this is a big stepping stone for us to really be transparent", McNamara said.
"I think the more people know about the clothes that they buy, it's like when you buy food, the more you know about the ingredients and where it's from, it'll impact how you purchase."
Watching McNamara greet customers at her pop-up, it's clear that she's hit on a way of spreading a message that is welcomed with open arms by young women, many of whom approached her with specific questions about fabrics, sizing and construction. Supported by other women in the industry, she's keen to "pay it forward".
"I want to be able to be that for young, up and coming designers. And I love doing that. I love meeting up and coming designers because it's so important to be able to share our knowledge and that's the big thing about what we're trying to do as well.
"It's not about being the best and only the only person. For me, it's all about you have to work together and that's a huge part of what I'm trying to do as well."
Fashion Week is in full swing across Europe and New York City, and a presentation at New York Fashion Week is the next goal McNamara is currently chasing.
"We have so many New Yorkers, Americans coming into our cottage in their village. As you can imagine, it's a tourist destination in Adare village. They always have a percentage of Ireland in them, they have their heritage, so I think they can really resonate with Ireland as well.
"It's going to be really bringing over our heritage and showcasing that to the Americans as well and really showing them that what we're doing here in Ireland is special. It's not happening anywhere else in the world and I think that's what I want to showcase."
