How a Limerick designer went from making 'avant garde' covid masks to creating a Rose of Tralee dress
Limerick Rose Leah McMahon on stage at this week's Rose of Tralee. Photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD
King John’s Castle and Chicken Hut were among the locations carefully crafted by a Limerick designer into the dress worn by Limerick Rose, Leah McMahon, earlier this week.
Mary O’Sullivan said she was honoured to see the bespoke gown she created showcased to Rose of Tralee viewers in Ireland and around the world.
The green and white dress illustrated Ms O’Sullivan’s play on a Toile de Jouy by displaying some of the designer’s favourite spots in Limerick city.
From creating a waistcoat worn by John Moran at his first mayoral ball to being announced as one of the designers who will take part in Ireland’s first Fashion Week, it has been one milestone moment after another for the designer.
After a week-long internship in a tattoo studio for her Leaving Cert, she fell in love with drawing. But it was while studying in Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD) that she found her calling.
“When I did fashion, it was like the sky cleared. This drive and passion that I had never felt before emerged for me. After that point, the rest is history, I was hooked,” she recalls.
This was followed by an internship in London’s embroidery houses, where she did work for the likes of the British royal family, Alexander McQueen and different brands like The Row.
“I had my daughter in first year of college as well. Because I had a daughter, it was always in the back of my head that if I was going to stay in Limerick, it was either a case me trying to find something that made me feel creatively fulfilled, or else start my own business.”
After the “intensity of fourth year”, she got burnt out and took a break from creative work. But when covid hit, her family and friends asked her to make face masks – which went from functional to “more avant garde”.
“I know people are allergic to them now and I don't blame them. But for me, it was something that allowed me a way to get back into sewing. It was no longer about being burn out, but about me helping others in a time when we felt all so alone and disconnected,” she said.
Later she worked with Chicken Hut, one of Limerick’s beloved spots, on a limited tote bag collection.
“With every project, I got a bit braver in my creativity,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
The Limerick designer has been gaining recognition for her Toile de Jouy, as recently seen on the Rose of Tralee stage. It is a design she remembered seeing for the first time when her mother worked as a nurse for the late Seventh Earl of Lord Dunraven and Mount-Earl in Adare.
She often visited a granny flat adjacent to his house as a child, where the print covered the wall from floor to ceiling.
“At the time, I didn't know the name of it, but it had these little scenes, a very romanticized view of country life.
“In my child mind, I always wondered about the people in these pictures and imagined all these lives for them. It just stuck in the back of my head.”
In October, she will be one of the nine designers showcasing her work at Ireland Fashion Week, as part of the Irish Roots show.
She said: “It’s like seeing Ireland in a new light, this isn’t the way that Ireland has been portrayed in the past. This is something new, something exciting, and unexpected from Ireland.”
As we are going through a cost-of-living crisis, Ms O’Sullivan said she understands not everyone can financially support artists. However, there are other ways to show appreciation for someone’s work.
“If artists or designers are producing work that you really like, just drop them a message. A lot of us work by ourselves and it sometimes can be like a very solitary thing. By interacting with people, you can give them a little pep in their step and help them to keep going."
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