Ashley McDonnell: The Woman Behind Ireland’s First Fashion Week

Ashley McDonnell Pic: David Carson for VIP Magazine

Ashley McDonnell is a powerhouse. She splits her time between Ireland and France, where she works with some of the world’s biggest fashion houses.

She told her mother as a child she would work with Dior in Paris and at 31 years old, she has certainly made that dream come true.

Now she wants to celebrate Irish fashion and is working tirelessly to make Irish Fashion Week (IFW) happen.

We sat down with Ashley to learn more about her baby.

Ashley McDonnell Pic: David Carson for VIP Magazine

“It’s been an absolutely incredible couple of weeks. The response has been so positive,” she admits about the launch of IFW.

“I thought we’d really have to knock on the doors of designers and convince them to be part of this, but we’ve had the opposite as over 240 designers applied to feature in one of the seven fashion shows.”

These designers include Paul McNamara, Rashhiiid by Rachel Maguire, Sinead Keary and Aoife McNamara.

“IFW is something I love and I’m passionate about, but if someone else had created it previously, I’d have been happy to simply help out. As a platform for a nationwide fashion week didn’t previously exist, I felt it was something that was needed and I could help build,” she admits.

Ashley McDonnell Pic: David Carson for VIP Magazine

“However, it’s not my calling in life and I can’t wait to hire a CEO to push it to the next level. My real passion project is building my own group here in Ireland for luxury brands across fashion, beauty, spirits, jewellery and beyond.

“That’s been my focus for the last three years. I’ve been honing my craft for years now, the time is right to do it for Irish brands. I can see myself working on that for the next 50 years.”

Ireland’s inaugural Fashion Week (IFW) will take place October 6th-10th.

You can find the full interview with Ashley in the new issue of VIP Magazine, on shelves nationwide now