Clodagh Cronin on 25 years of Samui: 'It was a gamble, but I felt I needed to be different'

As Samui hits 25 years in business, Clodagh Cronin chats to Vickie Maye about building the boutique that put Cork on the fashion map

Clodagh Cronin from Samui, Pictures: Miki Barlok

Clodagh Cronin has literally stepped off a flight from Paris when we talk. She’s just wrapped six days, and 22 back to back appointments, with some of the world’s most prestigious fashion houses, curating her autumn/winter collection for Samui.

A decade ago, I shadowed Cronin on one of these buying trips, and observed her assemble her edit at the illustrious Dries Van Noten.

I tell her I can visualise her traversing the Parisian streets, phone in hand, arm outstretched, following directions on Google maps to the next appointment. She laughs at the memory. It’s still as busy, she says, though technology — apps like online wholesale platform Joor — have eased the practicalities of the buying process. No version of AI, however, can match Cronin’s unique skill: Her innate eye for fashion.

It’s the reason Samui, the boutique that put Cork on the style map, is about to mark its 25th anniversary.

Under Cronin’s eye, it’s withstood a crippling recession, and a global pandemic.

Cronin is in a reflective state of mind as the milestone approaches — she celebrates the occasion today at an all-day, in-store customer event.

From shab to chic

She recalls the very first day she opened, on Drawbridge Street. Today it’s a busy throughoughfare, home to coffee shops, large retail chains, a bustling lane that links St Patrick’s Street and Emmet Place. Some 25 years ago, it was a very different story.

“Drawbridge Street, it was derelict. It was full of old houses with net falling off the curtains,” she recalls.

In 2001, Samui was just seconds from St Patrick’s Street, but it might as well have been miles away.

Cronin had taken a gamble with this new business. She had just left Cork boutique Monica John after 18 years, but even with all that experience, she had never attended an International Fashion Week.

Clodagh Cronin from Samui

She learned fast and on the job, but her first real coup was securing Moncler — the design house came to Cork to view Samui to see if it was the right fit for their esteemed label. Today it is sold exclusively in Ireland only at Brown Thomas and Samui. The big names, the esteemed brands, kept coming: Sacai, Rick Owens, Dries, Simone Rocha.

Now labels are often vying for space on her shop floor. Still though, it takes work to secure exclusive new names.

Cronin spends vast amounts of the year on planes, networking, meeting the key players. And it’s not as simple as a visit to Fashion Week twice a year either.

These days, pre-collections are key, alongside individual viewings with key labels.

Private bookings with design teams at Fashion Week allow her to get up close and personal with the clothes that have just been showcased on catwalks to decide which pieces will best suit her customers.

Control and Curation

Cronin is constantly pushing for new, striving to do better. Not bigger, just better.

There’s no drive to extend the store, or move to Dublin — “I’m too much of a control freak,” she laughs. Curation is key. She wants the perfect collection for her customer.

I bring her back again to the Dries showroom, where she chose pieces for specific customers — it was the ultimate in personal shopping. There is so much trust that some clients are simply sent collections each season, allowing Cronin to make the call for them.

The number of items and sizes are limited, so customers know they are truly getting one-off pieces.

Clodagh Cronin from Samui

“You have to make it interesting every season,” she says, describing her clients as savvy, discernible women. “I want it to be amazing. Next season’s got to be better, and the following season has got to be even better again.”

She is, she admits, her own competition: “I spend my time chasing myself, trying to better myself.”

Throughout our conversation, Cronin keeps referring to her close team of five, crediting them for the boutique’s runaway success. Samui, she keeps stressing, is very much a team effort.

Finding the silver lining

The economic crash and the pandemic destroyed many businesses, but they became powerful business opportunities for Cronin.

In 2007, business was so strong she extended her boutique to the first floor. And then, the crash brought the economy to its knees.

“The lights simply went out,” Cronin says, recalling those fraught years.

But as businesses spluttered around her, Cronin very masterfully decided to aim high, to make Samui even more exclusive.

“It was a gamble,” she admits in hindsight, “but I just felt I needed to be different to everybody else.

Clodagh Cronin from Samui

“There were so many closing around me, and everybody was looking for mid-price point. And I just thought there was always a customer there who wanted something exclusive. Even if it was to buy one piece and to have a good piece.”

It was a gut feeling, she remembers, and she followed it. It was one of the few boutiques in Cork to not just survive the downturn but to positively thrive.

Fashion locked down

On our Paris trip in 2017, we discussed the downturn as if it would be Cronin’s main career hurdle. We had no idea that a global pandemic was just a few short years away.

A challenge for so many industries, it was another unexpected boon for Samui.

Clodagh Cronin from Samui

“People were baking banana bread and it was this time of year and we had a storeroom full of stock,” Cronin recalls.

So one day she joined the team in store and they showcased their brands on Instagram: “I opened a box and we would put it up on Stories and people were just ringing, and I was back and forth to the post office.”

The warm coats were snapped up during bouts of outdoor dining, with the Anine Bing sweatsuits selling out in the boom athleisure days.

Remaining ever-adaptive

Cronin has never looked back. Her business model was changed forever.

“Instagram has increased our audience massively. We have to feed it every day but clients can watch us from Dublin or from anywhere in the country. Before you could be going to work on a Saturday morning and wonder, is there a rugby match on, what can impact us, but not anymore. Clients can just ring, and it’s done over the phone,” she says.

Cronin watches the latest trends keenly, pouring over the social media feeds of international boutiques to find the next big name in fashion. But Samui never has been, and never will be, a slave to trends.

“Instagram makes it easier to see what’s happening,” she says. “I follow a lot of other stores, I spend my time looking at brands. Yes, the trends are there but above all else, it has to be accessible to the Irish woman.”

Next on the priority list is an overhaul of Samui’s website. In the meantime, there are new labels arriving for spring/summer 2026 — premium cashmere from Frenckenberger, founded by two former employees of Rick Owens; and Haikure, an Italian denim brand centred on sustainability and contemporary design.

Our conversation over, Cronin turns her attention again to Fashion Week. The following morning she’ll place her orders for autumn/winter ‘26 — securing Cork’s position once more on the international fashion map.

• To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Samui is hosting a special in-store event today, inviting customers to join the celebrations with champagne and sweet treats.