Conaill O’Dwyer is a young Irish designer whose abstract take on traditional male threads is looking to realign the structure of menswear in Ireland. An NCAD graduate, his work so far, is a mash up of palettes, textures and tailoring. In his own words, it’s an examination of the ideas of masculinity and gay identity. O’Dwyer’s collection, A Default Man, is a gallant attempt at altering Ireland’s garment scene. By painting a picture of coming-of-age and O’Dwyer draws inspiration from aspirations of his past.
“I basically wanted to live out the country boy dream,” O’Dwyer smirks slightly. A look at what could have been. “The country boy dream” in this case, was to study in Dublin and then return to Wexford to live and work as a teacher. A dream which, regardless of the location and profession, is one which chimes with many of us. Namely, because it is just that, familiar. And though familiarity does not necessarily indicate fault, O’Dwyer was not going to live his life in a classroom.
O’Dwyer’s three years in Dublin studying Art and Art History in UCD, and a summer in spent in Paris with Irish from the creative scene, helped guide him to a far different endeavour than life as an educator.
“My parents were kind of freaking out at the idea of me doing another course,” laughs O’Dwyer, as he recalls his decision to enrol in NCAD. A year-long portfolio prep course lead to yet another degree course and whilst initially sceptical, his parents, accepted and supported him in this new direction.
From there O‘Dwyer began his portfolio, one which, though it garnered him entrance to NCAD and eventually a fashion degree, was of a slightly different tone to his work now. “It [his portfolio] was mostly photography focused. I had thought initially that I would go into media. Fashion was never actually the plan.”
Neither a plan nor a conscious decision, O’Dwyer explains that when it came down to it, going into fashion was less of a choice and more a natural progression. “I can’t say exactly the background or motivations that were behind it. Of course I’ve always been interested in it [fashion]. But I never considered it as a career, particularly not with regard to design”.
O’Dwyer is now etching out a career for himself in the Irish fashion industry. Following an internship with Jewellery Design House Edge Only, O’Dwyer is now working in E-Commerce fashion styling by day and adding to his current collection. “I’m quite lucky to have gotten a job like this out of college. Something that is steady, pays and is actually relevant. I have learnt a lot there. My graduate collection is still continuing to get a lot of press, so for the moment I am slowly building on that before I move on to the next [collection]”.
And though O’Dwyer moves forward as a fashion designer, he admits that it is his “country boy” beginnings which carves a path to his current career. “Growing up in Wexford, I wouldn’t say that my family was old-fashioned but there clothes were”. Suits were the order of the day for the generations that surrounded him. “I just remember my Grandfathers dressing in suits every day, regardless of what was happening. Regardless of them leaving the house or not. It was a sense of social standing. This had a massive effect on me, in terms of fashion but also in terms of what it meant to be a man.”
A resounding tone throughout O’Dwyer’s work, masculinity is reconstructed and in parts deconstructed in his collection. Traditionally feminine colours and clothes are splashed across confirmed male tailoring, O’Dwyer’s collection challenges gender and sexuality stereotyping. Though originating with his grandparents, O’Dwyer says a lot of his ideas came from his own suits.
As he began designing he was reminded by friend of his “experimental stage in college” and realised that subconsciously he had been designing something to that effect.
“I wore a lot of suits in college. They were usually a traditional cut with a lot of mismatched patterns and colours. I was wearing, I suppose, a very gay suit. A concept that a few years ago in Ireland would have been quite ill-matched. Being gay a few years ago was considered effeminate. It wasn’t a manly thing”.
Though O’Dwyer believes things have changed and will continue to do so, A Default Man is still an overt representation of gender norms and stereotypes in Ireland today. Overt as it may be, O’Dwyer sees a place for his work in Ireland. “I was surprized by how many people loved the collection and, how many men loved it. People are coming out of that conforming stage. Particularly in Dublin. I think in the country it’s still a little bit behind but things are changing”.
A welcome change for man, default or not, O’Dwyer reckons that we need to take pride in our progress regardless of its speed. “People need to celebrate change on a more gradual level. I don’t think they realize how big a thing it is for men to be wearing something like pink t-shirt. It may sound like something small but it’s not. These are the things that are giving way to people realizing it’s not okay to slag someone if they are gay or not what a man is supposed to be”.
Creating a default reaction to incredible developments, O’Dwyer’s work will continue to document our change and change the creative scene.
Delve deeper at conaillodwyer.com and www.instagram.com/conaillodwyer
Words: Sinead O’Reilly
