31 Chapel Lane’s A/W Lookbook Showcases Just Why It Is The Coolest Clothing Brand In Ireland

By Colette Fitzpatrick

I stumbled across 31 Chapel Lane at the Brown Thomas Create pop-up of Irish designers last year and began following them on Instagram. Immediately, the simplistic and timeless chic, yet incredibly cool, aesthetic of the brand had me obsessed. I desperately wanted everything they posted and their carefully curated social media presence was a blessing to my feed.

It is not just the aesthetic that I love, however. It is everything about the brand. It has beauty and brains and a heart.

Founded in 2012 by Damien and Joi Hannigan, as a homeware brand, 31 Chapel Lane is now a multidisciplinary design house and garment manufacturing company, based in the Georgian core of Limerick. Named for a location in a town historically tied to the Irish linen industry, near Damien’s hometown in Cavan, the brand makes much use of linen in their garments, a material that was once a core and celebrated feature of Irish clothing manufacturing. Alongside Irish linen, Donegal Tweed and wool is used throughout their collections and everything is made with great care and craftsmanship, employing traditional practices that have been refined over time. Strong, impeccably made and removed from the cycle of trends, these are beautiful clothes made for lifetimes.

The clothes at 31 Chapel Lane are made with sustainability and social responsibility firmly in mind and they are made to be fallen in love with deeply. No fleeting flings here, lifelong partnerships are to be forged. And while the price point does require investment, they are sound ones.

But back to that intoxicating aesthetic I mentioned at the start, it has gotten worse. By which I mean to say: even more captivating. The A/W collection (one of two, seasonal collections advertised on their site, as permanent capsules of staples rather than ever-changing things) was launched earlier this year with a campaign shot in Florence and every single image was killer. I saved each one on Instagram and wanted to go a step further and adorn my walls at home with them. Of course, I didn’t actually allow myself to go totally The Shining on it but I really did yearn to physically capture and hold the impossibly chic atmosphere of the shots. I finally remembered to reach out and get the images from them to share with you guys because if I need to be tortured by the beauty of it all, then you do too. Plus, if you’ve been wanting to make your wardrobe both more conscientious and chicer, look no further…

(All images used with permission from 31 Chapel Lane)

For more fashion content, check out our guide to Dublin’s coolest vintage store, Space Out Sister, and read our interview with Cynthia Bergstrom, the stylist for Buffy The Vampire Slayer.