Arran Murphy

I have always been extremely creative - I have been making things for as long as I can remember - my favourite was a paper lunch box that I made for my dad when I was 5 or 6, it was just the right size for his apple! For my first degree I specialised in photography and I also played keyboards in a band for a good few years but I didn’t find a way to make being creative my job until I worked in film as an assistant director and found myself always wishing I was part of the Costume Department. I started on my designing and making journey with a friend, on my Gran’s old sewing machine. We set up a small fashion label called ‘Curiouser & Curiouser’ and designed and made clothes and accessories which we sold at our market stall in Cow’s Lane Market and later the in The Loft Market. During this time we were asked to create costumes for several contemporary dance and theatre productions, some of our designs were showcased as part of Ireland’s exhibition in the Prague Quadrennial. I’ve now spent many years working as a Fashion and Costume Designer and Maker and have found my real passion in Rediscover Fashion, applying all my skills and experience to exploring, showcasing, and promoting Circular Fashion as a sustainable alternative to Fast Fashion.

I specialised in photography as part of my degree in Communications. I really enjoyed this creative element of my course. I loved spending time in the dark room mastering the magical art of developing photographs. I also went back to college to study Costume Design in Inchicore College. It was a very intense and skills based course but I really enjoyed it. It was great to be able to devote my time to exploring my creativity, honing my skills and creating different projects. Although I had been designing and making for a few years already, I hadn’t had any formal training and doing this course gave me an extra boost of confidence and expertise.

I think it is the job of artists to explore, illuminate and inspire, to deepen understanding and to pave new pathways of connection and meaning.

It is a representation and exploration of a feeling, thought or belief, a reflection and expression of something vital.

Art is a means of exploring and processing our realities, a means of expressing in ways that can create new understanding.

That’s a hard question! My favourite art is any art that inspires a new thought or sense of wonder, or that has a sense of humour.

I am inspired by my everyday surroundings and interactions, by the textures and colours of fabrics, by experimenting and exploring.

I like to be in the moment when I am creating, to embrace chance and synchronicity. I guess I see the creative process as a kind of journey - from the inspiration and ideas, through all the ups and downs of creating, to the finished piece.

Keep exploring, keep trying, don’t be afraid of making mistakes - the best ideas can happen by chance, by mistake and life is a long line of learning.

Believe in yourself, follow your heart and look for the silver lining.

It is really important to think about where our fashion comes from. Our clothes already have many chapters to their stories before they end up on a clothes rail in a shop waiting for us to buy them and bring them home. Unfortunately much of their story is not pleasant. The Fashion Industry at the moment is creating an unsustainable amount of pollution at every stage of its process, destroying local environments and rivers and contributing to 10% of global greenhouse gases, this is more than the aviation and shipping industries combined. It is also having a hugely negative social impact, many of the Fashion Industry’s workers are underpaid and are forced to work in unsafe working conditions. As our awareness of these issues increases there are more and more sustainable alternatives and options available, including sustainable and fair trade brands, and a growing second - hand market. It is really important to think about where our fashion comes from so that we can make choices that make us part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Extending the lifespan of our clothing and of textiles that already exist is a hugely important way we can lessen the impact the Fashion and Textile Industry is having on our environment. By reusing, recycling and repurposing we are reducing the need for new items, we are maximising the use of clothing and textiles that already exist. These practices are also really important because they help us change the way we regard and value clothing and textiles we no longer want for whatever reason - instead of looking at them as waste - useless - we shift our sense of value and look at them as a resource - use full! This shift in mindset is fundamental to helping society shift towards a sustainable Circular Fashion Industry.