We speak to two emerging Irish childrenswear designers getting noticed for their distinctive designs and ethical take on kids fashion.
Although it mainly points to accomplishment, the phrase ‘overnight success’ can sometimes come with negative connotations. It can suggest a lack of longevity, impugn authenticity, and even insinuate a scarcity of talent. Childrenswear designer Cairenn Foy is someone who could be described as such. Not as someone whose label lacks longevity – her business model has started off stronger than most and continues to evolve with strength. Not as someone whose authenticity is up for impugnment – her designs are propelled by the motivation to bring parents affordable luxury. And definitely not as someone whose talent can be insinuated as scarce – a simple glance at Foy’s girlish gùnas will send you into a swoon. What childrenswear designer Cairenn Foy can be described as is: an overnight success.
Just over a year ago, in February 2017, Cairenn launched her very first collection of carefully crafted dresses, notable for their dainty prints and Peter Pan collars. Brand new to the fashion industry, Cairenn began her career stocked in Irish legacy retailer, Avoca, and four other boutiques around the country, no mean feat for a first-time designer. But how did this debutante of design manage to successfully make her way into the Irish fashion retail scene?
“My background in business development definitely stood to me. It gave me the confidence to pick up the phone and start ringing stockists. It takes a long time to get in the door, you need to be extremely persistent and take nothing personally. There are a lot of unanswered emails and phone calls, but persistence pays off.”
Doing things slightly backwards but not badly, Cairenn took a design course in Grafton Academy and upon completion was left with seven samples and a readiness to step into the fashion industry. “I decided to go for it, to give it a shot. I had no factory, no idea how to do things like buy fabric in bulk, but I had my seven samples, so I started contacting stockists. For me, it was actually the best way to go. Simply starting with samples meant things weren’t too costly at the beginning, I didn’t have a huge fear of losing a lot financially. The worst case scenario, if things didn’t work out, was that my daughter, Ava, would have seven gorgeous dresses to wear.”
And that would have worked out nicely for Ava, considering she was in part the inspiration for the Cairenn Foy label. “At the time I was studying in the Grafton Academy, I was finding it frustrating that I couldn’t find any traditional little girls’ dresses that were good quality, reasonably priced and 100% cotton. My daughter and I both suffer from eczema and it can be very difficult to find clothing for myself, let alone her, that doesn’t irritate the skin. Many times I’ll see a garment that looks suitable but once I look at the composition, it will be made up of polycotton or nylon. All of the garments at Cairenn Foy are created with natural, breathable fabrics – it’s an important part of our ethos.”
Woven into the ethos, alongside quality fabric, is Cairenn’s distinct taste for timeless elegance. “The pieces I make are very lady-like, similar to the type of thing my mother and even my grandmother would have worn as a child. They are timeless, investment pieces that you can care for, keep, and pass on to a younger sister or cousin after.”
The word investment suggests that her pieces come with a hefty price tag, but that simply isn’t the case with Cairenn Foy.
“It’s important for me to keep the price low – my brand is about affordable luxury. I want as many people as possible to be able to buy them.” Luxury comes at no better price than when the designer can see end to end where her fabric is coming from and where her seamstresses are working. “I try to use as many Irish fabrics as possible. My knitwear is sourced from Emblem Weavers in Wexford. I’ve also met the entire team of seamstresses and designers. They have a solid background in design and production and are all paid a fair wage.”
With ethics behind the aesthetic, Cairenn’s label becomes even more favourable. Still with three sellout collections in her first year and the recent uptake of luxury retailer Brown Thomas starting Autumn Winter 2017, what is it about these adorable designs that appease the audience so much?
“Obviously I’m not recreating the wheel by producing little girls’ dresses with Peter Pan collars and I’m not trying to either. My designs are traditional and have a look that tends to evoke memories in people. For me buying the fabrics and choosing my prints is an emotional process. It takes me back to my own memories of being a child. I find that this feeling translates to my consumers. So many of them seem to be drawn in by this feeling and want to pass it on to their own daughters and granddaughters.”
Passing it on and moving it forward, Cairenn will be continuing the ties to tradition by branching out into Communion dresses in the coming seasons, her emphasis on timeless elegance steadfast throughout her designs.
“All my pieces will be made with natural, breathable fabrics and will definitely be affordable. I’ve done my research and there is a lot on the market that is made in China and made from nylon. I’ll be working with silk and cotton and intend on having a similar price point to, or lower price point than, what’s out there at the moment. They’ll also be a much simpler style to a lot of what’s on the market. I won’t be going for the mini wedding dress look.”
If you’ve caught a glance of The Mini Post Apparel’s mini pieces, you’ll most likely not have forgotten them. Carefully crafted tees are dubbed with carefully crafted terminology. Their creator, Orlagh O’Reilly, is making waves around the city with her childrenswear brand. But to rewind a few steps, The Mini Post started less with clothing and more with connection, with Orlagh’s original motivations stemming from communication via Tumblr.
“The Mini Post started in London when I was pregnant with my first child. At the time I was living in Shoreditch and was being encouraged by friends to move out to more family appropriate surroundings like a leafy suburb. However I decided to stay in Shoreditch and by doing so built up a wonderful network of Mums there. I set up a Tumblr as a means to share local kidswear labels, stores, and events for Mums around the area. To be clear, this wasn’t a blog, I’ve never been a blogger. What I share has always been visually driven. I used Tumblr because it is an inspiration platform. And that’s what I wanted to do, share inspiration as opposed to divulging insights into my life. Through this platform, I began to be contacted by brands and had the opportunity to work alongside some really cool labels in a collaborative way. It was great for me as it allowed me to work with some amazing labels like GAP and Stella McCartney Kids while promoting some gorgeous independent kidswear clothing too. I was very, very focused on the idea of slower fashion for kids and worked with brands who shared in those beliefs.”
Orlagh speaks of the importance of wearing ethical clothing from infancy as opposed to picking up this fashion fact in later years. “At the end of the day, it is each to their own, but my take on the whole thing is that I don’t want my kids to wear clothing made by other kids.”
After some time avoiding the leafy suburbs, Orlagh moved home to Dublin, following the birth of her second child. Upon moving home, her flair for children’s fashion had not wavered and she found herself looking to dress her children in something outwardly Irish that had good ethics to boot. To her dismay, what she found in the realm of outwardly Irish was a little too targeted at tourists for her liking. She took things into her own hands and, on 100% certified pure organic cotton, Orlagh created children’s t-shirts, proclaiming two favoured Dublin colloquialisms: ‘Deadly’ and ‘Rapid’.
“I printed one t-shirt for each of the kids and posted them on Instagram. The response I got was wonderful. Suddenly I had a lot of people asking for them.”
From there, due to popular demand, Orlagh branched into ladies sizes, created the ever popular ‘Northsider’ and ‘Southsider’ sweaters and made the ‘Love Grá Amore’ print which caught the eye of fellow Dublin-based designer, Chupi.
“The ‘Love Grá Amore’ was really popular from the start. Chupi got in touch about ordering one, in pink of course, and then also asked me to stock for a time in Atrium. This was huge for me, being stocked side by side with such amazing Irish designers. I adore Atrium, the designs they carry are a perfect example of the fact that buying ethical does not mean a compromise in style. Before, if you wanted to wear ethical, it would often be hemp and not very chic. The likes of Atrium have changed that. Wearing ethical now is a seamless statement of style and integrity.”
With slow fashion the watchword of The Mini Post, Orlagh admits that it can be hard running a business as such.
“It’s a small business – and when I say small business, I mean that it is just me. The chain is expensive and the return is low, but I absolutely love doing it. I’m so lucky with my customers too. So many people have reached out to me via The Mini Post Apparel, who are so passionate about the subject of slow fashion. If anything I am just so happy that I’ve started a conversation about the ethics of childrenswear and hopefully raised awareness surrounding the issue. Hopefully it will make a difference and parents will start to look elsewhere when shopping and not just aimlessly opt for the high street.”
Orlagh and The Mini Post are trying to move the consumer forward by example, meshing ethical and eco-friendly into one.
“We don’t produce anything unnecessarily, such as swing tags for the garments, and have made our packaging as recyclable as possible. Because of this, things do cost that bit more, but it’s worth it to support something sustainable and guilt-free.”
On a final note Orlagh reiterates once more, the good of going for fair and independent. “Buying local and independent is always a win. It allows you to support a woman with kids, who is doing a deadly thing, which I reckon is a lot better than giving your money to some multinational.”
Words: Sinead O’Reilly
