An American fashion designer is about to help young Donegal students realise their dreams of getting into the rag trade.
Sheila Clancy-O’Donnell came to live in Letterkenny with her young family after spending 25 years in the fashion industry in Manhattan.
Now having developed some classes with students at Loreto Convent in Letterkenny, Sheila has set her sights on hosting an evening course at the LYIT.
Sheila got her idea to run a fashion course after a visit to the Ardara weavers.
Weavers told her it was so difficult to get new workers coming through.
“I just thought it was so sad that there is a huge demand around the world for tweed and we have this rich tradition on our doorstep in Donegal.
“So I thought ‘why not teach our youth about the opportunities right at their back door? My good friend was a fabric buyer who bought tweed from Donegal for Ralph Lauren in New York, so this fabric was part of my fashion history before I even moved here.
“There’s always talk about what Ireland doesn’t have, why not prove to everyone what we DO have!
“My goal is to inspire anyone who has a love of fashion to learn all about the ins and outs of the trade. To gain insight to decide if this is an avenue they want to go down,” she said.
In developing the course, Sheila has had tremendous help from Magees Weavers of Donegal town, John Rocha, Dublin and John English Linens of Co. Down.
Many Letterkenny retailers have also offered to come on board to assist with this program.
Here’s the link to LYIT
http://www.lyit.ie/courses/lifelonglearning/llfash/