- FASHION -
THE CRAFT
RORY PARNELL-MOONEY While I was on my search for Irish mavericks in the fashion design community, there was one particular person who I was intrigued to talk to: London-based designer Rory Parnell-Mooney. Rory launched his AW15 collection in Nowhere, Dublin on Aungier Street and I availed of the perfect opportunity to meet him.
support from the incredible Fashion East and their MAN platform. The AW15 collection resembles an ecclesiastical aesthetic in church garments which Rory has created through the ritual art of dressing. He uses minimal designs and mixed this aesthetic with an aggressive concept of ‘a boy at riot’ or ‘a boy at protest’.
Born and raised in Galway, Rory travelled to London to pursue a career in fashion at the young age of 18 and went to study at London’s Central Saint Martins. He finished college after achieving his Masters in Menswear and showing his graduate collection at London Fashion Week 2014.
“I love the linen fabric. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to make but it’s something that we came up with in the studio that I’ve never actually seen before. I look back at the show now though and I love the energy that’s in it: the colour palette is really nice and I think there’s a really raw, angsty teen energy which I really like about it as well.”
I wondered why he moved to London at such a young age? “I decided to move to London to see what it was like, first of all. I knew I wanted to study fashion so I did a one year foundation course, and I kind of thought if I didn’t like it I could just come home. And that was really the main reason I decided to go: see what it was like. And then it just expanded.” When we take a look at the career possibilities that are available for designers in London compared to Ireland, is it surprising that most designers move abroad to pursue their careers? Is it possible for an Irish designer to earn a living in Ireland?
Photographer Michelle Walsh
“I mean, when you work in different parts of the industry you need to be in different places for different things. An independent menswear store in Dublin (Nowhere) – this is amazing! And that needs to be encouraged everywhere. Somebody needs to go into the department stores and say: ‘you need to start stocking Irish people!’ But personally, I feel for designers. It’s very, very hard to be based outside of a fashion capital. It would cost me thousands of pounds to ship a collection to London to show at Fashion Week. And that’s just another added cost, you know. For the sake of me paying £200-£300 pound for rent in London. Logistically it’s a nightmare.” Rory made his debut at London Collections: Men in January 2015 with
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I asked him about why he chose this career in fashion and what keeps him inspired. “I don’t think I could not do it, you know. I’m not really one of those people who are like ‘I lovvveee fashion’ but I just love clothes. Getting dressed in the morning is my favourite thing to do. I love how clothes feel, and everytime I walk into a store and want to touch every fabric I see.” Fashion design is a craft which requires creativity and passion to succeed, but also entrepreneurship and business skills. Today, we are seeing more and more people in Ireland pursue this as a career. Although the fashion market in Ireland remains an underdog in the international market, it’s growing at an immense pace and the boundaries are finally being broken down. But challenges are still faced by young and upcoming designers today. “Money. One hundred percent, money ... and understanding how to run a business, which again I put down to getting that backing. You can’t just say to someone: ‘Here’s four grand, here’s a studio ... go and design a collection that we’re going to show at fashion week.’ You’ve got to work with them! I’m so lucky to be working with somebody like Fashion East and Topman, because I can call them up at any time and say: ‘I have no idea what I’m doing!’ Or ‘I’ve never invoiced someone before. What do I do?’ I think that’s the main challenge.