Building Ireland’s First BCorp Certified Fashion Brand & Climbing to New Heights in 2024 with Aoife McNamara
Returning for the second time at Tech Powered Luxury, we explore new horizons with Aoife McNamara and the state of sustainable, independent fashion in Ireland and beyond.
Hello Tech Powered Luxury listener, and now reader!
🎙️ This week, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with Aoife McNamara, the visionary Irish fashion designer revolutionizing the industry with her sustainable and ethical approach. We dive into her inspiring journey, her dedication to sustainability, and the exciting ventures she has planned for the future.
🌟 Are you new here? Welcome to our amazing community - keep reading to discover everything about Tech Powered Luxury, our Community Rewards and how this newsletter came to life.
✨ I’m Beatriz Barros and I’m very excited to have you reading us today!
👀 TL;DR
Aoife McNamara is an Irish fashion designer focused on ethical and innovative womenswear, who plans to climb Kilimanjaro in 2025 to raise awareness on the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion.
She is committed to redesigning the fashion industry to be more transparent, regenerative, and circular, with nature at the core of her decisions. Aoife is a top example of building a community through your core values.
Aoife's brand is the first B Corp certified fashion brand in Ireland, emphasizing sustainable practices and supply chain transparency. Her latest collection, "Remember," draws inspiration from Irish heritage and uses locally sourced materials.
💎 Exclusive Question 💎
Who has been your most unexpected mentor, and what did they teach you?
“The most unexpected mentor in my life has been my father. As a creative, I often found myself being overly critical and hard on myself throughout college and still sometimes do. Yet, with a wisdom both simple and profound, he consistently encouraged me to trust in my own abilities through diligent effort and consistent hard work. His unwavering belief in me taught me never to doubt myself, instilling a quiet confidence that has guided me through challenges.”
🌾 Sustainability, community and knowing your why
Aoife McNamara's journey in fashion is an inspiring testament to the power of sustainability and community. Her commitment to using ethical materials and creating transparent, regenerative, and circular fashion has set her apart. Aoife’s ethos of putting "earth logic" before "growth logic" underscores her dedication to making a positive environmental impact, a principle evident in every aspect of her work.
“[Earth logic] is choosing planet and people first. It’s choosing nature first. Looking at your supply chain and choosing sustainable fabrics that are ethically made. I love fashion, but I’d way prefer to be known as a sustainable Irish fashion house rather than having the most beautiful garments in the world.”
This philosophy drives her to prioritize the planet and people over mere profit, ensuring that her brand grows sustainably without compromising on environmental integrity. That’s what pushed her to become the first B Corp brand in Ireland, “I wanted to prove to myself that sustainability wasn’t just a buzzword”, says Aoife. And she build a whole ecosystem around it.
We had already talked about knowing your why with Rachel Maguire from Rashhiiid and the importance of having strong values connected to your brand. Building a community that shares the same guiding principles, and creating situations and experiences through which those values can be expressed beyond just the garment themselves is the peak of cultural relevance.
“I felt like I was creating sustainable clothes, but nobody really knew what sustainability meant, or what ethical materials were; nobody knew how to put on a button, nobody knew natural dye. I went back into the role of trying to inspire more and trying to educate people. And with that came the community events.”
From hosting all sorts of events at her store to promote local artists and creatives, all the way to implementing de-growth strategies such as skipping a season and only creating pieces from leftover materials, Aoife is ready to climb to new heights. Literally.
Alongside our host Ashley McDonnell, Aoife will film a documentary climbing the Kilimanjaro to showcase and bring attention to the harmful impact of fast fashion and landfills, especially to communities in Africa and Asia who have to deal directly with the consequences of reckless consumerism.
“I think people are nearly afraid sometimes of talking about the impact that the fashion industry has there. What we're trying to do is showcase how can you make change and how can you make better decisions so that you're not choosing clothes that will go into landfills and never biodegrade? You're choosing more locally sourced biodegradable fibers and you're also educating yourself so you know that these things are actually happening.”
Knowing your “why” when building a sustainable brand facilitates the hard work that pays off in the long run, even if it’s not visible in the short term. “It's all about supporting locals and looking around you and really having that community aspect to a brand”, says Aoife. “It's not about having the most beautiful garments in the world. It's really about diving back into nature and working with it. Scaling with ‘earth first’ is definitely a lot harder, but I wouldn't do it any other way.”
🧶 A look at sustainable and independent Irish brands
As Aoife McNamara spearheads the Irish sustainable scene, other brands are also creating their own narratives and communities. We shed a light on those who are proudly working with locally-sourced fabrics, have their production based in Ireland and a very culturally- and environmentally-conscious storytelling.
The Tweed Project
Led by designers Triona and Aoibheann, The Tweed Project is built on handmade, one-off pieces using premium Donegal Tweed and Irish Linen, produced entirely in Ireland.
Enthusiastic about Irish fabrics, the founders observed that although Tweed and Linen were highly sought after, no one in Ireland was adapting them to meet contemporary aesthetics.
Operating from a small atelier in Galway, the brand emphasizes quality and craftsmanship. Embracing the Slow Fashion movement, each piece is made to order.
Fresh Cuts Clothing
Mono-turned-multibrand Fresh Cuts launched in the vibrant heart of Dublin in 2015, offering a stylish and quality-driven alternative for those committed to sustainability. Founded by Lorna and Steven, this independent family business merges conscious fashion, creativity, and craftsmanship.
Fresh Cuts uses GOTS-certified organic cotton, harnesses wind-powered mills, and implements water-saving techniques, prioritizing the planet at every stage of their production process. By employing reactive dyes, they achieve vibrant colors with minimal environmental impact, ensuring that each garment is a responsible choice for the planet. You can see their suppliers and certifications on their website here.
STABLE of Ireland
Stable of Ireland is dedicated to showcasing the beauty and diversity of Irish textiles. Founders Sonia Reynolds and Francie Duff ensure that apparel, accessory and homeware pieces are crafted using traditional Irish materials such as wool, linen, and cashmere.
They work with skilled artisans across Ireland to keep age-old techniques alive, creating contemporary designs that honor the country's rich heritage and craftsmanship.
🎁 Community Rewards
Aoife McNamara is giving our community a €50 discount on her apparel line with code TPL50*.
Some of our favorites include:
Awaken to the Land Irish Tweed Blazer at €200. Luckily the whole set is available with fantastic tweed trousers at €300 and a waistcoat at €200;
Coral Wide Leg Trousers at €245, a wide-leg relaxed fit perfect for summer afternoons;
To Remember Co Ord Jacket at €325. It’s made entirely from natural, undyed linen as it’s 100% biodegradable: “this piece will go back to the soil from which it came”, reads the description.
Happy sustainable shopping!
*TPL50 is a one-time-use code, with no minimum order purchase and valid across the apparel range on https://aoifemcnamara.com/. Cannot be combined with other discounts. Valid from June 12th to June 19th, 2024.
🎙️ Upcoming Conversation: Michel Tjoeng
Yes, you read that right. We have LVMH Innovation Prize Winner Michel Tjoeng discussing everything from Social to Commerce with ChatLabs. Tune in to the episode on Tuesday June 12th to discover all about his journey and the perfect mix of technology and luxury.
See you next week,
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Launched as a podcast on November 1st 2022 by Ashley McDonnell, Tech Powered Luxury has since nurtured a vibrant community of experts passionate about the evolving synergy between technology and luxury. We have reached over 20 million people through the podcast, social platforms and media, and have hit +500K downloads.
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🪄 Our weekly newsletter is curated by Beatriz Barros, a seasoned expert in luxury and technology based in Milan, Italy. A dedicated collaborator of Tech Powered Luxury, Beatriz applies her expertise as a Fashion & Luxury Business Consultant at Retex—Italy's forefront company known for integrating strategic acumen with operational excellence to solve complex retail-oriented projects for fashion & luxury brands. Additionally, she educates aspiring professionals at Polimoda, renowned for its focus on Fashion Design & Business in the vibrant city of Florence, Italy - also where she first met Ashley during one of her lectures on the future of luxury: a match made in academic heaven. 🌈