The Conscious Vanguard: The future of Ireland’s fashion industry | IMAGE.ie

Production

Another key area is the need to nearshore the manufacturing arm and transition to a green economy with an emphasis on Irish-made products. This requires locally sourced materials, but also the skills to do something with them.

Founder of the Linen Shirt Company and a third-generation clothing producer in Kilkenny, Anneliese Duffy has recently turned her focus to reestablishing the Made in Ireland tag. Growing up on the factory floor, Duffy always felt that Ireland had a proud manufacturing history but that the Made in Ireland brand had been decimated and the role of skilled sewing machinists undervalued.

“It’s unfair that machinists, who are the real talent behind a brand, do not have any formal accreditation for the skill they acquire over a long period of time. Where designers have the opportunity to get a degree or a diploma, machinists, even if they’ve been working in the industry for 30 years, have no piece of paper to certify their skills or industry qualifications,” she says. “I feel very strongly that we as an industry should be supporting the idea of a Made in Ireland brand, and the more clothes we can make here the better it will be for this brand.”

Duffy founded Fashion Connect Ireland, an impressive manufacturing facility in New Ross, Co Wexford, which opened last November. It has a Cut, Make, Trim (CMT) production space where she can produce apparel for other brands, offering them shorter production runs, quicker turnaround times and fewer air miles.

It also hosts a 17-week programme which has been certified by Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) and which trains machinists to operate at industry level. “The biggest gap we could see was the skills gap in manufacturing. It’s about supporting the individual to become employed in the industry, yes, but by doing this we can also support the needs the industry has in order to grow.”

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of IMAGE. 

IMAGE Summer 2024

The Summer issue of IMAGE is here, and we’re taking the longer days as an opportunity to slow down, take stock, and luxuriate in the lull that summer brings. From laid-back looks to in-depth reads, there’s everything you need to set you up for the season. Plus: * Warm-weather style * Boho is back * In studio with Irish designer Sinéad O’Dwyer * Career success stories * Growing and foraging * Women in music * Reframing divorce * Tackle your tiredness * Summer beauty favourites * Bringing the outdoors in * Irish eco escapes * Garden getaways * and so much more… 

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