A RISING Irish fashion designer who has worked with some of Hollywood’s top stars has told how he “didn’t expect any of this to happen”.
Despite still being in college, Oran O’Reilly has already left a huge mark on the fashion industry.
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Born and raised in Dublin, the 21-year-old is currently navigating college life, balancing his studies with an ever-growing career in fashion.
And the rising designer has already created pieces for a tonne of celebs including the Irish singer CMAT, Siobhan McSweeney from Derry Girls and most recently American singer Chappell Roan.
Oran said he never expected his recent success, and that he only welcomed the idea after he started to study set design in IADT.
He said: “I always wanted to be a playwriter or work in set design, and it was only through college that I found costume design and I fell in love with that.
“When people started asking me could they buy the clothes I was making, the realisation hit me that this could actually be my job.”
Known for his extravagant and over-the-top designs, Oran said he draws inspiration from everywhere including drag queens, celebrity stylists and movies from the American director John Waters.
He said: “I get inspiration from anywhere basically, and a lot of it is very much on the fly.
“And I’ll think about what do I love, I love old movies and certain designers and certain fabrics and so I always try to incorporate that in to my work.”
The rising designers camp has led him to work with some big names in Ireland and America – but he only got his first break in the fashion industry last year when he designed clothes for Irish singer-songwriter CMAT.
Talking on how these collaborations come about, Oran thanks Instagram and the power of social media for giving him a platform to work with celebrities and their stylists.
And he reveals this led him to design clothes for the hugely popular American singer Chappell Roan, who recently wore one of his pieces that was inspired by the drag queen Devine in the cult classic film Pink Flamingos.
He said: “I originally followed Chappell’s stylist Genesis on Instagram and she told me that she was designing clothes for Chapell’s upcoming tour and asked if I would be interested in making a look.
“I got given a long email with every look she wanted for the tour, and told me to do whatever I liked.
“And the last one I seen was Devine from Pink Flamingos in that red dress, and that film was always so important to me so seeing this I was like I need to do that.”
Along with being featured in British Vogue, his work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Dazed and recently caught the attention of American actress Natasha Lyonne on social media.
The rising designer confesses that he would love to dress some other top celebs in the future including Lana Del Rey, Ethel Cain and Florence and the Machine.
Oran said he can’t believe the response to his work, revealing that it doesn’t hit him until he sees the celebs wearing his clothes while performing to thousands of people.
He said: “It has all been absolutely bonkers, I would have never expected any of this to happen – I’m just so greatful for everything it has been crazy.”
Although he admits that his number one focus is now finishing college to make his parents proud, the rising designer revealed he is currently working on something big.
Sworn to secrecy, he couldn’t say much more but he isn’t going to stop doing what he loves anytime soon.
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