9 Irish designers who are putting sustainability first in fashion
Irish fashion has always told a story: from lacework passed down through generations, to tweed woven into memory, and linen rooted in the land. These materials, once not luxuries but necessities, were crafted slowly, worn for years, and valued for durability.
This heritage of thoughtful making, where each garment carries meaning, now inspires a new generation of Irish designers.
“We’re seeing manufacturing coming back to this country. During the 80s, there were factories all over; small artisans making really high quality product. I think that's why we're so respected globally, we have a reputation of quality and of making things that last.”
– Linda Byrne, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design in NCAD
Drawing on legacy crafts, local, mindful production, and sustainable practices, this new generation are translating tradition into the modern context, for a global audience hungry for fashion that is both beautiful and responsible.
Meet 9 Irish fashion designers who are showcasing how they weave heritage and innovation together for a better future.
Róisín Pierce
Dublin, Ireland
Róisín Pierce’s innovative womenswear designs use heritage techniques like crochet, lacemaking and smocking to create contemporary sculptural silhouettes.
She is dedicated to zero waste cutting and construction techniques, and focuses on thoughtful production through deadstock upcycling and sustainable practices. She evokes themes of female resistance and liberation in her all-white designs, and currently produces her collections locally in Ireland, keeping traditional technique alive.
Dublin-born and Galway-raised, Pierce has gained international recognition, including being named in Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2022 and winning the inaugural Chanel Métiers d'Art award in 2019.
Róisín Pierce
Dublin, Ireland
Róisín Pierce’s innovative womenswear designs use heritage techniques like crochet, lacemaking and smocking to create contemporary sculptural silhouettes.
She is dedicated to zero waste cutting and construction techniques, and focuses on thoughtful production through deadstock upcycling and sustainable practices. She evokes themes of female resistance and liberation in her all-white designs, and currently produces her collections locally in Ireland, keeping traditional technique alive.
Dublin-born and Galway-raised, Pierce has gained international recognition, including being named in Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2022 and winning the inaugural Chanel Métiers d'Art award in 2019.
Colin Burke
Galway, Ireland
Galway-born knitwear designer Colin Burke has stayed true to his west coast roots using Aran techniques taught to him by his grandmother. He is redefining what the traditional Irish knit can be in his contemporary twist on heritage design.
Influenced by his love of architecture, his knits are sculptural, with a focus on voluminous form. Focusing on exceptional yarns, each piece is handmade with impeccable details.
This is a slow fashion brand by design – Burke uses some stitches that can't even be replicated by a machine. His collections are entirely handmade, designed to be modern heirlooms, treasured by generations.
Colin Burke
Galway, Ireland
Galway-born knitwear designer Colin Burke has stayed true to his west coast roots using Aran techniques taught to him by his grandmother. He is redefining what the traditional Irish knit can be in his contemporary twist on heritage design.
Influenced by his love of architecture, his knits are sculptural, with a focus on voluminous form. Focusing on exceptional yarns, each piece is handmade with impeccable details.
This is a slow fashion brand by design – Burke uses some stitches that can't even be replicated by a machine. His collections are entirely handmade, designed to be modern heirlooms, treasured by generations.
Each garment is carefully crafted, featuring cloth that is patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered, hand-stitched, and pressed.
Faye Anna Rochford – FéRí
Wexford, Ireland
Wexford-born Faye Anna Rochford designs under her own label FéRí, having previously worked in Diane Von Fürstenberg, Philip Treacy, Bora Aksu, Primark, and ethical fashion initiatives Re-dress and Andrea Crews.
Creating womenswear that blends minimalism with sculptural detailing, her designs feature certified organic fabrics and timeless silhouettes.
Crafted locally with sustainability sewn into the roots of the brand, she prioritises low-waste production and careful material sourcing, with an emphasis on natural and reclaimed vintage textiles. She hand-paints prints onto retro-inspired silhouettes, and her designs are handmade in small quantities.
Faye Anna Rochford – FéRí
Wexford, Ireland
Wexford-born Faye Anna Rochford designs under her own label FéRí, having previously worked in Diane Von Fürstenberg, Philip Treacy, Bora Aksu, Primark, and ethical fashion initiatives Re-dress and Andrea Crews.
Creating womenswear that blends minimalism with sculptural detailing, her designs feature certified organic fabrics and timeless silhouettes.
Crafted locally with sustainability sewn into the roots of the brand, she prioritises low-waste production and careful material sourcing, with an emphasis on natural and reclaimed vintage textiles. She hand-paints prints onto retro-inspired silhouettes, and her designs are handmade in small quantities.
Eibhlin Cassidy - Hilo
Cusco, Perú
Fermanagh-born Eibhlin Cassidy is the designer behind Hilo, an independent slow fashion brand based in the arts quarter of Cusco, Perú. Making what she calls “elevated everyday wear with a twist”, she designs for both men and women using only Peruvian fabrics, combining traditional techniques with contemporary appeal.
She works with women from the Pumaqwasin co-operative community to source natural dyes using plants from the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Each garment is carefully crafted, featuring cloth that is patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered, hand-stitched, and pressed, with seams that tell a story for each made-to-measure piece.
Eibhlin Cassidy - Hilo
Cusco, Perú
Fermanagh-born Eibhlin Cassidy is the designer behind Hilo, an independent slow fashion brand based in the arts quarter of Cusco, Perú. Making what she calls “elevated everyday wear with a twist”, she designs for both men and women using only Peruvian fabrics, combining traditional techniques with contemporary appeal.
She works with women from the Pumaqwasin co-operative community to source natural dyes using plants from the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Each garment is carefully crafted, featuring cloth that is patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered, hand-stitched, and pressed, with seams that tell a story for each made-to-measure piece.
Aoife McNamara
Limerick, Ireland
Aoife McNamara cut her fashion teeth as an intern at Marc Jacobs in New York, and as a Fellow in Cobalt Fashion’s innovation lab in Silicon Valley.
She is now known for her eponymous contemporary womenswear brand that merges experimental tailoring with wearable elegance. Inspired by nature, she focuses on sustainable materials, including Irish tweed, wool and linen as well as Cupro (made from cotton waste) and Pyratex (luxury knits from vegetal, upcycled or biodegradable fibres).
Aoife McNamara is Ireland’s first B Corp fashion brand, prioritising local production and low waste practices, and championing quality over quantity.
Aoife McNamara
Limerick, Ireland
Aoife McNamara cut her fashion teeth as an intern at Marc Jacobs in New York, and as a Fellow in Cobalt Fashion’s innovation lab in Silicon Valley.
She is now known for her eponymous contemporary womenswear brand that merges experimental tailoring with wearable elegance. Inspired by nature, she focuses on sustainable materials, including Irish tweed, wool and linen as well as Cupro (made from cotton waste) and Pyratex (luxury knits from vegetal, upcycled or biodegradable fibres).
Aoife McNamara is Ireland’s first B Corp fashion brand, prioritising local production and low waste practices, and championing quality over quantity.
“At a time where consumers are becoming more aware of their surroundings and their purchasing choices, being able to buy sustainable fabrics that are biodegradable, with a low carbon footprint because we are not shipping from abroad means we can create better collections and be more in line with the consumer mindset at the moment.”
– Eddie Shanahan, Chair of the Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CFID)
Amy Anderson – Kindred of Ireland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
What began as a quiet idea to breathe new life into Irish linen for Amy Anderson, has now become Kindred of Ireland. A luxury linen brand, Anderson creates timeless pieces with contemporary edge.
Growing up surrounded by flaxseed meadows and listening to her grandparents tales of the local linen mill, she hopes to protect a positive legacy through Kindred.
All Kindred’s designs are handcrafted, using sustainable practices that focus on slow production and use organic fabrics. Her signature is a beetled linen, which gains a glossy patina through a vintage process. She employs these reimagined ancient techniques to harness the power of the past in creating long-lasting garments that she hopes will be passed down through generations.
Amy Anderson – Kindred of Ireland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
What began as a quiet idea to breathe new life into Irish linen for Amy Anderson, has now become Kindred of Ireland. A luxury linen brand, Anderson creates timeless pieces with contemporary edge.
Growing up surrounded by flaxseed meadows and listening to her grandparents tales of the local linen mill, she hopes to protect a positive legacy through Kindred.
All Kindred’s designs are handcrafted, using sustainable practices that focus on slow production and use organic fabrics. Her signature is a beetled linen, which gains a glossy patina through a vintage process. She employs these reimagined ancient techniques to harness the power of the past in creating long-lasting garments that she hopes will be passed down through generations.
Mihai Mar – MAR Knitwear
Dublin, Ireland
Romanian-born and raised in Ireland, Mihai Mar’s designs are inspired by K-pop and pop culture. His label, Mar Knitwear, produces collections that are bold and beautiful, with patterns and characters featuring prominently in his knitted designs.
Committed to ethical craftsmanship, Mar hand-picks scavenged materials, waste yarns and sustainable natural fibres to create diverse collections on his hand-operated knitting machinery. His label is circular by design, and he is constantly considering how to ensure consumers love their clothes for longer into his garments.
He is a co-founder of Dublin Independent Fashion Week, and was a knitwear producer for season two of Netflix’s hit show Wednesday.
Mihai Mar – MAR Knitwear
Dublin, Ireland
Romanian-born and raised in Ireland, Mihai Mar’s designs are inspired by K-pop and pop culture. His label, Mar Knitwear, produces collections that are bold and beautiful, with patterns and characters featuring prominently in his knitted designs.
Committed to ethical craftsmanship, Mar hand-picks scavenged materials, waste yarns and sustainable natural fibres to create diverse collections on his hand-operated knitting machinery. His label is circular by design, and he is constantly considering how to ensure consumers love their clothes for longer into his garments.
He is a co-founder of Dublin Independent Fashion Week, and was a knitwear producer for season two of Netflix’s hit show Wednesday.
These innovative, durable garments take waste like single-use plastic, discarded wool jumpers, factory floor fabric scraps, and reimagine them.
Katie Walsh – The RE-PETE Project
London, Great Britain
Dubliner Katie Walsh honed her pattern-cutting skills at Alexander McQueen, and had her own label, Poltock & Walsh, show at New York and London fashion weeks.
She took a break to start a family and became obsessed with the circular economy. Enter The RE-PETE Project - a modular luxury fashion label built on circular design principles.
A gender-neutral brand, her innovative, durable garments take waste like single-use plastic, discarded wool, factory fabric scraps, and reimagine them. RE-PETE partners with regenerative farming projects in the Philippines and Türkiye, and creates their own fastenings in London with used coffee cup lids from local cafes.
Katie Walsh – The RE-PETE Project
London, Great Britain
Dubliner Katie Walsh honed her pattern-cutting skills at Alexander McQueen, and had her own label, Poltock & Walsh, show at New York and London fashion weeks.
She took a break to start a family and became obsessed with the circular economy. Enter The RE-PETE Project - a modular luxury fashion label built on circular design principles.
A gender-neutral brand, her innovative, durable garments take waste like single-use plastic, discarded wool, factory fabric scraps, and reimagine them. RE-PETE partners with regenerative farming projects in the Philippines and Türkiye, and creates their own fastenings in London with used coffee cup lids from local cafes.
Caoimhe Dowling
Copenhagen, Denmark
Caoimhe Dowling’s label celebrates storytelling through clothing, with designs inspired by her passion for writing, Irish mythology and growing up on the south west coast of Ireland. Her work centres on the use of unique textiles, through a combination of newly developed artisanal wool and repurposed deadstock materials in natural fibres.
Dowlings’s ethos is to look to the past to move forward, bringing traditional craft practices into a contemporary context.
She has a Master’s in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles from The Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, and the brand centres itself around sustainable practices, emotional longevity, localism and a deep-rooted connection to nature.
Caoimhe Dowling
Copenhagen, Denmark
Caoimhe Dowling’s label celebrates storytelling through clothing, with designs inspired by her passion for writing, Irish mythology and growing up on the south west coast of Ireland. Her work centres on the use of unique textiles, through a combination of newly developed artisanal wool and repurposed deadstock materials in natural fibres.
Dowlings’s ethos is to look to the past to move forward, bringing traditional craft practices into a contemporary context.
She has a Master’s in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles from The Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, and the brand centres itself around sustainable practices, emotional longevity, localism and a deep-rooted connection to nature.
