Style notes: The stylist with an eye for vintage gems

The stylist has an impeccable eye for picking up quirky, unusual pieces and now she has launched her own website, Nobody’s Empire, which, she says, “is a land where vintage rules”.

The day we chat, Maya is on the receiving end of lots of admiring glances on Dublin’s fashion-forward Drury Street for her Versace-esque boots which, for the record, she picked up on Depop.

I wasn’t at all surprised to discover that Maya hails from Seattle, one of the best places in America to pick up seriously good vintage.

Maya moved here nine years ago to do a degree in Irish Studies at Trinity College, which is where she met her husband, Ronan.

The website launched in late November and Maya quickly saw an immediate pick-up on her curated pieces, especially earrings and pieces from the 1970s, that golden decade.

Named after a song by Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian, Nobody’s Empire is less about quantity and more about Maya’s personal style.

Star pieces include a genuine 1970s swirl-print dress with ruffle neckline, cape sleeves, fitted waist and midi length (pictured right), which sells for €75, while fans of white off-the-shoulder cotton tops may like one from the 1980s with puff sleeves and broderie overlay detail for €55.

Maya hand-picks vintage and pre-loved beauties from ethical sources “to create collections that preserve the past while helping to secure the future”.

She has worked in retail, managed stores and worked as a fashion stylist, assisting the legendary Paula Hughes, and of late, has started to do more interiors work.

Happy with the positive reaction to her venture, Maya tells me: “Purchasing a Nobody’s Empire item saves an eclectic slice of fashion history from landfill, while enabling new stories to lace through its threads.” nobodysempire.com

Unisex clothing line

A new unisex line in clothing has emerged in the market in the last month. It is run by two university students from Dublin who have worked in menswear retail, so they know fashion from the ground up.

Max Lynch and Riley Marchant set up Mobius, a sustainable fashion brand, aiming to give back to our world, so 10pc of their total profits go to a charity fund.

In the maths world, a mobius is one-sided infinite loop, so it plays well to their concept of give back to the communities.

The pair, who met at St Andrew’s College in Booterstown in Dublin, launched with four organic cotton T-shirts (€35), two sweatshirts (€55) — one in cream sold out in days — and black heavyweight joggers at €50.

The garments are made in Bangladesh in FairWear audited factories. They use GOTS-certified 100pc organic cotton and recycled polyester and use sustainable water-based inks in their graphics .

“The aim of this ‘Mobius Charity Fund’ is to bring about positive change to our planet and the final sum from each collection will be donated to one specific charity,” explains Riley, who studies Fashion Business and Management at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Engineering student Max is a student at Trinity College along with Charlie Molony, who modelled with his twin brother, Tom, wearing the burner phone and postcard T-shirts respectively.

mobiusclothing.com

New Irish talent

The eagle-eyed Edel Lyons has added another string to her bow at Rag Revolution, the premium fashion rental company she set up in 2019.

Keeping an eye on new talent emerging from the fashion colleges, Edel has done a collaboration with four designers — Sharon Sweeney, Weronika Reluga, Hannah Coogan and Megan Ruth Bullard — and created a six-piece limited-edition collection of tops which you can buy for €90-€150.

Edel says her goal in supporting new Irish talent was to create a unique home-designed collection where customers can buy “one-of-a-kind pieces that they can wear and keep forever”.

“All items have been created using sustainable or recycled/repurposed fabrics. In the interest of reducing overproduction and waste, each top is made to order and will be available to pre-order on our site.”

The babydoll top  (€100)  in a shimmering gold mesh is by Weronika, who set up WR Designs after graduating from NCAD.

Another stand-out piece is a white, square-necked crop with Edwardian-inspired sleeve and vintage hand-painted moonglow glass buttons from Sharon Sweeney, a graduate of the Grafton Academy. Both tops are available to be made in sizes 8-16.

Edel worked in marketing and advertising before setting up her rental business. It has already been used by Irish celebrities like Laura Whitmore and Roz Purcell. In the rental offer mix, you will also find popular labels like Rotate, Reformation, Olivia Rubin, Rixo, Kitri, Needle & Thread and Self Portrait in limited sizes.

The fees are €69-€85 for three days but you can negotiate longer terms, and they take care of dry cleaning.

And by the way, if anyone is totally fixated by the Vampire’s Wife ‘Falconetti’ dress in emerald green (like the one Kate Middleton wore in Ireland) and which was voted by one poll as ‘Dress of the Decade’, Edel rents one at €299 but on pre-order only, and allow up to three weeks to order.

theragrevolution.com