Is this woman the future of Irish fashion?
Tech entrepreneur and director at Puig Ashley McDonnell is transforming the perception of Irish fashion both at home and abroad. She tells Marie Kelly about the country’s inaugural Ireland Fashion Week.
She’s been described as Ireland’s answer to Emily in Paris, but for me, Craughwell native Ashley McDonnell echoes the focus and steely determination of the Netflix show’s breakout star Sylvie Grateau far more than its under-qualified and over-accessorized leading lady.
For one thing, the fashion expert, tech entrepreneur and director at Puig – one of the world’s largest parent companies in the luxury fashion and beauty space – speaks fluent French, having moved to the fashion capital 12 years ago to study a Master’s in international management at the prestigious business school HEC Paris. She has none of Emily’s ‘fake it till you make it’ attitude either. Instead, McDonnell mapped out every single step of her journey from Shop Street to the Champs-Élysées.
“I was very lucky to know from an early age what I wanted to do,” McDonnell explains. “So I followed the precise path that others in my industry had; I literally looked at what all the former CEOs of luxury brands did. I didn’t try to avoid moving to France and learning French. There were no shortcuts, connections or introductions,” she adds.
With entrepreneurial parents and three younger brothers who have all started their own businesses, it’s no surprise that McDonnell has several side hustles alongside her full-time role, including the Tech Powered Luxury podcast and this year’s inaugural Ireland Fashion Week. Running from 6-10 October, the event will include five fashion shows by solo designers, one mixed show with ten established designers and one graduate show, which will feature 41 new and emerging designers.
McDonnell is passionate about the future of Irish design and its position in the global marketplace. Part of her bigger picture strategy to support brands is to build a parent company in the vein of LVMH.
Most importantly for McDonnell, though, the event will reach far beyond the boundaries of Dublin city, breaking with fashion week tradition both at home (Dublin Fashion Week ran from 2005-2018) and abroad. “I’m so excited that one of our shows will be at Ballynahinch Castle,” she says. “It’s the dream location for me to platform, not just because of its heritage and the fact that it’s in Galway but because one of the most prominent families in the global luxury space, the Cartiers, visited there when it was owned by an Indian royal family [the Maharaja Jam Sahib owned Ballynahinch from 1924-1933]. That’s going to feel like a monumental moment,” she adds.
For McDonnell, who was born in New York but raised in Galway, Ireland Fashion Week will sit very much at the intersection of fashion and culture. “We don’t have the budgets other fashion weeks have,” she explains. “We don’t have the legacy brands and we don’t have that recognition of Ireland as a hub for fashion and design. What we do have is incredible cultural weight. I want to showcase that through all the groups we’re involved with, from fashion and hospitality to food and spirits,” she says. Financial services corporation Visa has just been announced as the headline sponsor – proof if any were needed that McDonnell’s vision is rooted not in hyperbole but in commercial acumen.
McDonnell is passionate about the future of Irish design and its position in the global marketplace. Part of her bigger picture strategy to support brands is to build a parent company of her own in the vein of LVMH. “In Ireland, we’ve no such group and that’s why I believe Irish fashion – for the most part – has been unable to get off the island and achieve international success.” McDonnell has big ambitions. “I want to help Irish brands achieve a 90% export rate, and within the domestic market, sell 50% of their stock to international shoppers. I’m only looking at brands that are profitable and desirable. When your product isn’t a necessity, customers need to have an emotional connection to it. But even with a great product you’re only 1% of the way towards building a luxury business. That’s what I’ve learned over the years.”
At just 31, McDonnell has the confidence, discipline and insights of a woman at least ten years older. You’d imagine this stems from a decade working for brands from Dior to LVMH, and while McDonnell acknowledges the huge level of learning that comes from working for “a massive corporate machine”, she says it was being part of Craughwell Athletic Club throughout her childhood and teens that really shaped who she is today. “I had incredible years there learning to set goals, make plans and stick to them. I always pay tribute to my coach Michael Tobin, who I’m still in touch with.”
McDonnell specialised in track and field and won 13 national medals with the club. “Talent only takes you so far, “ she explains. “The rest comes down to pacing yourself, setting goals, reviewing them and constantly improving your performance. I learned that really early on at the club and it stuck with me.”
Growing up, it wasn’t all work and no play, though. McDonnell still has the same group of friends she hung out with in Craughwell before she moved to Paris and every Christmas they exchange Secret Santa gifts as they always have done. Apart from her family, when she’s away from home she misses foodie nights with her friends and Galway pubs most of all. “It’s such a great city,” she says. “At least when I’m in Dublin, I can go to Whelan’s,” she adds. “It’s the only pub where you almost feel like you’re in Galway City.”
This article was originally published in The Irish Times Magazine, June 2025