Meet the young Cork fashion designer who netted €10K prize

A YOUNG fashion designer from Cork said she can’t believe her job allows her to play ‘dress-up’ every day, despite the sometimes challenging environment for creatives in Ireland.

Ríon Hannora O’Donovan, who has dressed a host of top Irish singers, will be in the spotlight at Gifted, the Contemporary Craft and Design Fair, at the RDS from today, December 6-10.

Earlier this year, the Limerick College of Art and Design graduate won one of five prestigious RDS Craft Awards, earning herself €10,000 and the coveted stand at Gifted.

The 27-year-old admits she still has to pinch herself that it has all happened and admits she wouldn’t be where she is in her career without the backing. The prize fund allowed her rent a design studio over boutique Om Diva, on the capital’s Drury Street, where her work is stocked.

“And it’s also allowed me creative freedom, so I don’t have to make things just because they might sell. I’m so grateful for the opportunities it’s opened up,” she said.

Originally from The Lough in Cork city, Ríon said she has been making her own clothes since she was a teen – without even realising it.

“My mum said she had to hide the scissors because I was always cutting things up!” she said.

Her grandmother Catherine O’Donovan was also an amazing dressmaker, as was her great grandmother, Ríon says.

“She always dresses beautifully and would have made clothes for my mom and her siblings growing up.”

After graduating in 2019, Ríon dived straight into the industry and started selling her own pieces from a rented studio in Cork city. Covid disruptions saw her relocate to a shared family home in Castletownshend in West Cork where her grandfather was from.

“Around that time, I was awarded an art bursary from Cork City Council and my confidence in my work really started to grow,” she said.

Central to her Ríon Hannora brand are Baroque-era fitted corsetry, made with contemporary fabrics, which she spray-paints.

“I love the excessiveness and volume that women wore in the Baroque-era, but a lot of the time they were nearly breaking ribs so they could fit into their pieces,” said Ríon.

“That goes against everything I do. I turned it on its head and take a more feminist approach in my designs, so a lot of my pieces would be adjustable so they can be fitted to how you are feeling on that day. Instead of being instruments of torture, I see them as a form of empowerment, that make people feel good when they wear them.”

She’s also just started work on her first dedicated men’s pieces, including quilted gilets and trousers.

Interestingly, she shies away from using the word ‘collection’, and instead prefers to use ‘chapters’.

“It’s because I see them as all being part of the same book and it allows me to give a nod to past pieces I’ve created,” she said.

Ríon abhors fast fashion and when she’s not wearing her own pieces, she dresses exclusively from charity and vintage shops.

I actually had to buy a pair of mittens the other day for cycling and that was the first time I’ve bought anything new in months.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary to buy anything new with so many beautiful second-hand things already in circulation.”

So, who is a typical Ríon Hannora O’Donovan customer?

“There isn’t one! They’re all unique but what they have in common is that they’re not afraid to stand out a bit.

“Just recently, one of my t-shirts, with a corset spray-painted on it, was bought by an 80-year-old woman, which I absolutely love!”

She describes her own style as colourful, flamboyant and playful, “but it also has to be functional and comfortable – so no heels!”

The young woman also works as a stylist, mainly with creatives in the music and theatre sphere. Denise Chaila, an Irish-Zambian rapping sensation, singer, poet, grime and hip hop artist based in Limerick, who has opened shows for Ed Sheeran, was dressed by Ríon for a magazine cover.

Singer-songwriter CMAT (Ciara Mary Alice Thompson), who saw her debut album enter the Irish charts at number one, has showcased Ríon’s designs in her videos.

Fellow singer-songwriter Orla Gartland, whose YouTube channel has almost 300,000 subscribers and 24.5 million views, wore Ríon’s work while performing at Electric Picnic, and Cork native Jenna Keating is also styled by her.

“I love music, and I’m very interested in theatre and dance, and it’s so rewarding to see your pieces on stage,” she says.

Gifted, she said, will give her a unique chance to meet her customers, and vice versa, which she’s so looking forward to.

After that, it’s down to Castletownshend to spend Christmas with her family and catch up on some of her hobbies including yoga, running and cooking.

With such a commitment to slow fashion and ethical production, it’s not surprising to learn she’s also a vegan.

Top of her agenda in the new year is attending Copenhagen Fashion Week in January.

“I’ll be attending as a member of the public – and hopefully I’ll be showing next year.

“This can be a hard environment to work in but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I absolutely love my job.”

Gifted, the Contemporary Craft and Design Fair, will take place at Dublin’s RDS from today, Wednesday, December 6 to Sunday, December 10. Full details and booking can be found at www.giftedfair.ie