Oran O'Reilly on Reviving Glamour, Irish Heritage, and Dressing for the Self

Designer and recent college graduate Oran O’Reilly

In this intimate conversation, we sit down with Dublin-based fashion designer Oran O'Reilly to explore the inspirations behind his work, the ethos of his brand, and the roots of his creative journey. A recent graduate of IADT, Oran shares how his start in costume design evolved into a deep love for fashion. His distinct aesthetic blends sixties elegance, operatic drama, and a reverence for Irish identity. With a new collection on the horizon and a passion for reviving the art of true glamour, Oran is a designer reshaping modern fashion through a lens of culture, craft, and personal storytelling.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your brand. 

My name is Oran O'Reilly, I'm a fashion designer based in Dublin. My fashion design, kind of, journey started a couple years back when I got into IADT. I found costume design and kind of fell in love from there.

Oran’s dress he designed for singer Chappell Roan as a tribute to Divine in Pink Flamingoes (1972)

What inspires your work?

I take inspiration from everything. I take a lot of inspiration from sixties fashion. The idea of, like, dressing a full outfit really excites me. That kind of ladies who lunch culture. I just really want to evoke that ethos of really dressing for one self. With micro trends and the kind of culture that fashion is at the moment, it has been lost. I would love to kind of have a revival of that.

Are you working on a new collection everyone should know about?

I am indeed. I just am a recent graduate. The text that I chose to study and dissect and create is a play from the sixteen hundreds called the Tragedy of the Duchess of Malfi. There is lots of taffeta, lots of chiffon, inspired by my mom's family's Italian heritage. There are a lot of religious elements in it.

I took so much inspiration from Maria Callas. I really just wanted to create just this glamour that I feel like is a dying art form. I'm just really, really excited about this collection and hopefully it should be out in September.

From Oran’s new collection, inspired by 1960’s fashion, his Italian heritage, and John Webster’s “The Tragedy of the Duchess of Malfi”.

What does made in Ireland mean to you? 

I think the concept of being made in Ireland is genuinely one of the most important things to me. I started off with a lot of traditional Irish knitwear, but done in my interpretation of it. My brand really formed and is based off the concept of Irishness, whether that be the Claddagh motif or the horse painting in Terminal 2 of Dublin Airport, either subconsciously or consciously, I really take in Irish culture. That's a huge, just part of my brand's ethos, I think.

You can watch Oran’s interview here on our Instagram

View more of Oran’s work here in his Instagram