What’s on model, mum, activist and fashion icon Erin O’Connor’s wishlist this Christmas? The Team at Brown Thomas caught up with her, fresh off a flight from New York, at the annual Brown Thomas ISPCC fashion show to find out.
Meeting Erin O’Connor is a surreal experience. Her beauty, her poise, her presence – and above all else, her focus and attention to whomever she speaks to is very special. For a woman who is in demand – which is to say, always – stealing a few minutes of her precious time seems greedy. Her time though is something she loves to share, working with numerous charities, travelling the world, and still finding time to design, write and collaborate. Her connection with the ISPCC is just one of the great causes she is aligned with.
What got you involved with the ISPCC?
I always think very carefully about who I sign up with because I want to be really hands-on, and that’s a long relationship. It needs to flourish and grow. This is a lovely medium for me to work in because Ireland is my home from home. I believe in the ISPCC’s work, so I’m willing to go all out to support them.
Throughout your career (23 years and counting!) the world of fashion has evolved so much. Are you still in love with the industry you cut your teeth in more than two decades ago?
It’s changed so much! Fashion has always been about fleeting moments, the magic of a live show, that adrenaline rush of the unexpected when you step out onto a runway. That feeling cannot be captured.
Today, e-commerce and the digital era is about observing everything on mass, and it’s so fast-paced. There’s no real secrecy to the process anymore, everyone has backstage access and insider knowledge. But with the digital era comes a whole new kind of creativity. It’s exciting and I see it as a challenge to adapt and grow.
So when you go to sleep at night, what do you dream about achieving now – or rather, what is left to achieve?
Fashion should be all inclusive and yet it’s still a challenge to see all kinds of beauty being represented. I have women in my family of all different shapes and sizes and fashion is as much for them as it is for me. For as long as that is still a challenge we face, I’ll stick around.
We hope you find this interview useful and if you wish to find out more about women fashion & beauty, we recommend you to pop into a Brown Thomas store or visit their website.
