Sinéad O’Dwyer wants her community to feel like home

When we last spoke to London-based designer Sinéad O’Dwyer, she was gearing up for her SS25 show in Copenhagen – her first presentation outside of London – and she’d just won the second Zalando Prize, with a €50,000 fee. Fast forward to this summer, the designer is still spinning many plates. Following her AW26 show in February (in which she returned to British soil) centred around archetypes of secretaries, submissives to gymnasts and dancers, Sinéad was then nominated for an LVMH Prize.

The Irish creative was one of 20 creatives that made this year’s prestigious LVMH semi-finalist line up, joining the company of Nicolas Skovgaard, All-In, Renaissance Renaissance, Torishéju and more. Now, she’s just unveiled her SS25/Pre-fall collection, starring friends and creative multitaskers, Danielle D.Lyonne and Davia Spain. Although she won’t be showing at September’s LFW, the New Gen alum is looking forward to a more slowed down way of connecting with her audience, which started with a two-day pop-up in East London this month to celebrate the campaign. ​“In luxury fashion or when clothing is not exactly cheap, you forge these relationships with people who come to a pop-up, try stuff on and also save for each piece. I’m really interested in cultivating a meaningful relationship with my customers.”

How did you meet Danielle D.Lyonne and Davia Spain, who star in the campaign?

I was at an artist friend’s dinner, and Danielle was there, but we’d never met in person, only online. She brought Davia with her, as they were living together at the time. I initially was interested in only casting Davia, and then when I visited their house, I was really inspired by the space and how connected they were.

When we spoke last summer, you mentioned that SS25 was a show of firsts, including denim and puff detailing. How does this translate into the SS25/pre-fall campaign?

I thought it was fun to play with this idea as a muse and artist. Both of them do performance work – in particular, Danielle – and so she was playing the artist and exploring these fictional characters. Some of the SS25 pieces have been redeveloped to include darker colours and it’s more transitional. The criss-cross top comes in darker colours, too.

Some of the images feature Danielle and Davia staring into mirrors or observing one another through a reflective surface. What was the idea behind that?

That was about lenses or reflection and being the subject of someone’s work. In the text that Danielle wrote to accompany the campaign, she brings in ideas around obsession, lust, connection, how you see yourself around others and how they view you. There is a bit of a sinister element and unrequited lust. It was very much inspired by their connection together.

The shoot looks quite hazy and dreamlike. Was that an intentional choice?

We wanted it to feel warped – that’s what the outside sequence became. There’s a dreaminess and I was thinking about mythology and Davia as sort of this archetype of the Huntress. The sheen and out of focus touch element [to the shoot] was to reflect inaccessibility.

You’re committed to getting to know your avid supporters. What does that mean to you?

I’m really invested in cultivating a meaningful relationship with the people who resonate with the world I’ve created. That’s also a nice thing about not doing a runway in September – I’m doing other things. I admire Chopova Lowena for that [having one show a year].

How would you describe the Sinéad O’Dwyer community?

It’s quite a broad range. It’s actually why I launched a basic underwear line recently. I wanted to have more accessible pieces for fans [of the brand] who are younger and really believe in my work.

Last year, you won the Zalando Visionary Award, and this year you were an LVMH Prize semi-finalist. What was that experience like?

It was really unexpected! It was fun to be able to have my last NewGen collection [the BFC’s London Fashion Week NewGen scheme] during fashion week with the prize in mind. I took my AW26 runway collection to the LVMH Prize showroom. In my application for the prize, I said that my goal is to be able to get to a point where I could start directly serving the community I’m designing for and have an extensive size range. I can do that now.

Lastly, the British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir announced a series of changes that will be implemented during London Fashion Week, including waiving fees for emerging designers. As a former NewGen student, what do you think about the change?

As a young designer, any sort of fee you have to pay is a barrier to doing something. So [to see] that change is really amazing. I know the [London Fashion Week] schedule is looking larger than last season, so it’ll be exciting to see what will happen this year.

Have a nosy at the full campaign and SS25/Pre-fall collection here.