Sorcha O'Raghallaigh is an Irish designer celebrated for her unique, bespoke creations and embroidery. Born in County Offaly, she grew up strongly influenced by her mother’s innate sense of style. In 2006 Sorcha moved to London to specialise in fashion design at the internationally renowned Central Saint Martins.
With a love of handmade craft and ornamental detailing, her designs are described as “grand poetic gestures, imbued with a sense of ceremony.” Sorcha blurs the lines between art and fashion, an approach that has garnered her an elite following; her clothes have been worn by Maisie Williams, M.I.A, Florence Welch and Kiesza to name a few.
The designer is deeply invested in the “quality, history and passing on of a handmade skill from one person to another”, a fact reflected in the motifs, symbolism and iconography that characterise her unmistakable aesthetic.
Sorcha interned at both John Galliano in Paris and Diane Von Furstenberg in New York, before graduating in 2010 to critical acclaim.
From College to Iconic
“After studying Fashion design at Central Saint Martins in London, I started my namesake brand quite organically- kind of accidentally through many requests for custom and bespoke pieces. Straight out of college I began to slowly build a fashion brand in London!”
Sorcha ran her brand in London for five years, before being approached for a design job in Italy.
“I was quite burnt out and decided to take a step back from the brand and focus on working for other fashion houses. I restarted the brand in 2020 in Ireland with my sister Aine as my business partner.”
In recent years the business has grown three distinct divisions: accessories, ready to wear and bespoke. Within these divisions, Sorcha and Aine sell direct to the consumer, work with leading fashion stores on wholesale and provide bespoke service one to one with their clients.
Becoming Self Employed
After many years working for other brands and fashion houses in Italy, Sorcha had gained a tremendous amount of industry knowledge and had built relationships and contacts with others in the fashion industry. Using these invaluable tools, Sorcha decided to restart her brand Sorcha O’Raghallaigh in 2020.
“I missed the creativity of running a brand while I was working for others. I restarted the brand full time in 2020.”
Poetic Gestures and Stunning Embroidery
Sorcha’s designs are unique and many are bespoke pieces of wearable art. This is what makes them stand out.
“I think the use of craft & embroidery we love to use to create handmade and extremely unique pieces. I think these one of a kind pieces make our brand a bit different to others in our industry.”
Challenges & Opportunities
“Every day there's a challenge with running a small business. You definitely have to learn to be flexible and think outside of the box in order to solve problems constantly!
Opportunity-wise, we have been lucky enough to work with some incredible clients which we never take for granted.”
Sorcha’s designs have been worn by some of the most iconic stars including Beyoncé, Grimes, Lady Gaga, Maisie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Kate Moss, and Jordan Dunn.
Changing the Business Model
Sorcha’s first change came from the Covid-19 pandemic. With the uncertainty of retail stores, she focused on direct to consumer and entry level price point products to help sustain the business in those challenging years.
“We have to think on our feet and pivot all the time due to the aftermath of the pandemic and the general turbulence in the world at the moment.”
Stand Out Moment
“A stand out moment was when we had an order confirmed from Selfridges in London, this was a big moment for our brand to be stocked at such an iconic store.”
LEO Supports
Sorcha was recently approved for a TAME grant and earlier this year she also participated in the LEO Dublin City Mentoring Programme,
“We have recently had a TAME grant approved which has supported us in working with a Paris showroom this Paris fashion week. This is a huge opportunity to help us grow our export wholesale division as we are looking to expand our international wholesale stockists in the UK, the US, Europe and the Middle East. Without the support of LEO TAME grant it would have been much harder for us to make this happen.”
The Future
For Sorcha, the future is bright.
“Hopefully we can continue to grow our business, expand our wholesale and direct to consumer offerings, and continue to grow the brand in a way that's true to our aesthetic and vision without compromise.” She tells us.
Advice for New Entrepreneurs
“Keep going and make sure you have a good support network or mentor. It can be exciting and fulfilling running a business but it can also be lonely, challenging and stressful. It's important you have people you can share the highs and the lows with.”
Contact
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