THAR AN DORAS

Thar an Doras, the graduate collection from NCAD designer Aishling Ryan Ellis, transforms personal memory into bold, sculptural fashion. Rooted in her grandmother’s rain bonnet and enriched with Irish symbols like Sheela na Gigs and Brigid’s Crosses, her work celebrates unapologetic women through sustainable, story-driven design. 

Interviewer- Your collection, Thar an Doras, explores intergenerational memory—starting with your grandmother’s clothing. How did that personal family item evolve into your final looks?

Aisling-  My research for this collection started with my Nanny’s plastic rain bonnet which had a huge role to place in terms of decision making for fabric and silhouette. I chose to work with paper nylon for the majority of my collection to recreate that synthetic and structured feel of the plastic bonnet. I started making my samples in the exact same shape as the rain bonnet and added some fabric manipulations like ruching, layering and gathering to enhance the silhouette. The bonnet played a huge part in every look but it is most prominent in the huge dress in look one. The sleeves and the front and back panels all started in the same shape as the rain bonnet. 

 I- You draw on strong Irish female imagery—like Sheela na Gigs and St. Brigid’s Crosses. What do these symbols mean to you, and how did they shape your silhouettes or fabric choices? 

A- The Sheela na Gigs played a big part in the colour story of my collection. I began sampling the Sheelas by making 3D versions of them but I eventually settled on sublimation printing as it brought out really beautiful greens and pinks that I really wanted to push forward and work with. I knew from the beginning that I wanted embroidered Brigid’s crosses somewhere in my collection and chose to use green thread for this to match the green in the Sheela na Gigs. Also having white Brigid’s Crossed embroidered on the linings of the pocho and the dress was a nice hidden detail.

I- Your pieces are wearable yet deeply conceptual. How do you balance form and functionality?

A- Some of the garments are more fun than wearable and others are more functional. This kind of happened naturally during the design process, I knew that the dress for look one was going to take up a lot of space so I wanted to balance the silhouettes and make look two more wearable with the play suit but still have a fun element with the paper nylon poncho.

I- In your own words, your collection celebrates “unapologetic women” taking their place. How does that ethos manifest in the lines, shapes, or materials used?

A- The unapologetic nature I aimed to convey in my collection is portrayed through the paper nylon and the general silhouette, especially in look one. Paper nylon is a loud fabric to wear and the oversized dress takes up so much space, demanding to be seen and heard. Every movement made by the wearer can be heard and to me, this encapsulates the unapologetic attitudes I see in a lot of modern women today.

I- Your process seems rooted in reflection. Can you walk us through your design journey—from research to moodboards to physical samples?

A- Rooted in reflection seems like the perfect way to describe it as I naturally found myself reflecting on my last four years of college while creating my final collection. It’s easy to feel like you won’t be able to achieve what you want to with the final collection but seeing it all come together at the end was really worth it. My research began with the plastic rain bonnets I grew up seeing my Nanny and all her friends wear. Thinking about how important grandmothers are to society I wanted to look into femininity in Ancient Ireland and how I could link these two concepts. Sketchbooking is so important to design development so drawing from research imagery, sampling, working with samples on the stand and then drawing from the stand were all huge parts of my process. Drawing thumbnails of design ideas is probably my favourite part so I can get as many ideas out as quickly as possible and then make the designs more refined from there.

I- Your practice is born of identity, heritage, and belonging. How do you hope wearers of your garments feel when they step “beyond the door”?

A-  I hope that wearers feel unapologetic when they wear my garments. Whether conscious or subconscious, as women we are taught from a very young age to be quiet and not take up too much space. Although we are slowly trying to create a safer space for women in society today, our grandmothers didn’t have this privilege. My collection is as much an applause for modern women as it is an appreciation for older women who have raised the generations after them to not conform to these ideals.  

I- As a graduate in 2025, how does Thar an Doras reflect or challenge current directions in Irish fashion—whether sustainability, storytelling, or social identity?

A- As far as sustainability goes, some of the fabrics used in the linings and facings of the poncho, skirt and dresses were from second hand wedding dresses that were donated to the college. I also used so much fabric for the Sheela dress that it felt wasteful to just leave it as one garment. Instead, I designed the sleeves to be removable and added a lining to them so they can be used as bags. There is also embroidery on the linings so they can be reversible. I also added a huge drawstring to the back panel of the dress so it could be worn as a skirt or another dress. It’s almost like a 3 in 1 garment. I’d like to think that Thar an Doras reflects the Irish art of storytelling but that’s definitely subjective. 

I- What moment in your creative process—seeing the final drape, completing the first sample—felt like a breakthrough or key discovery? 

A-  Making the first toile for the Sheela dress definitely felt like a breakthrough for me. I had been sampling for so long and started to feel the time pressure but when I saw how it looked in the sample fabric, knowing it would look even better in the final fabric, I was just excited to make a proper start on all the finished garments. It also really helped to guide the direction of how the rest of the collection would look, whether I was designing pieces to complement or contrast the dress.

I- Looking ahead, what’s your next step? Are you planning further collections, collaborations, or community-based work? 

A- I’m definitely planning collaborations with some other graduates and current NCAD students for photoshoots and small design projects which is really exciting. There is so much emerging talent in Ireland right now and I think it’s so important to work with other artists. I’ve taken a break from planning any full collections but it’s definitely something I’ll be looking into in the near future. 

Written by Robyn Doyle 

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