By Abbey Colgan
One Irish fashion designer saw their work grace the world stage in the past year as many of our favourite pop icons, including Chappell Roan and CMAT, enchanted their audiences dressed in captivating and camp designs. These unique pieces were curated by a young creative from Dublin, Oran O’Reilly, who has witnessed his visions come to fruition through the performances of many notable pop-culture figures.
O’Reilly discovered his love for costume design while studying at IADT, Dún Laoghaire, and takes much of his inspiration from various aspects of Irish life and culture. He believes, “Being Irish and living here has a huge impact on everything I do, I truly believe that your periphery of culture you grew up in impacts you a lot, and the place you live really influences the choices you make in terms of design. I never realised just how rich Ireland’s visual culture is until I started to design and discovered its endless inspiration.”
Aside from the undeniable insight O’Reilly gains from Irish culture, he also finds inspiration through different time periods such as Old Hollywood, Broadway costuming from the 1960s and 70s, and 90s fashion. These influences are what tie together his stand-out designs and inform the type of fabrics and silhouettes used. O’Reilly crafts these pieces in a way that synchronises flawlessly with the personalities of those who wear them. Irish icon CMAT is one of the many musicians who elevates her artistry through her eccentric style, and O’Reilly is the mastermind behind many of her looks. Back in December 2023, CMAT wore custom handmade corset by Oran Aurelio which featured the art of her album cover for her headline concert at 3Olympia Dublin, and in true sustainable fashion, CMAT re-wore the piece to the Mercury Prize Awards in September 2024.
Another piece by Oran Aurelio travelled all the way to Kentuckiana Pride 2024 to be worn by no one other than Midwest Princess Chappell Roan. The rising popstar performed her set dressed as Divine from the legendary John Waters classic ‘Pink Flamingos,’ and O’Reilly recreated this figurative frock to perfection. He describes this experience as “completely bonkers. I am still reeling over how lucky I have been to have received such wonderful support from people online. Working with people I am a fan of is always so crazy to me, and I would love to be able to work with more people whose art has inspired me.” O’Reilly, who describes himself as a ‘huge pop culture connoisseur’ says two artists he would love to work with in time are Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey.
This is only the beginning of a flourishing career for O’Reilly and the possibilities for his future have no bounds. This leaves us wondering what wishes O’Reilly has for the future of Oran Aurelio. “I really want to establish my brand as a fashion label to continue to do what I do, but to the maximum I can push it.” One specific dream O’Reilly envisions for himself would be to design the Irish Olympic team’s uniform.
Getting to see our favourite pop icons strut the stage adorned in clothing put together by Irish hands makes for an exciting future for the talented Oran O’Reilly, and all the aspiring Irish designers who have yet to display their vision. The allure and distinctiveness embedded into the work of Oran Aurelio is refreshing and riveting, broadening the undoubtedly infinite horizons of fashion. Now is the perfect time to embrace the magic that is sewn into the seams of Irish design.