NAMARA

When renowned Irish-born New York-based fashion trailblazer Daniel Moloney unveiled his eponymous menswear collection three decades ago, it was an act of sartorial rebellion. 

After breaking in with Halston and moving on to design with and for iconic fashion houses with names like Donna Karan, Randolph Duke, Kenar, Kenneth Cole, Tory Burch, and Burberry, he was driven to open a new frontier of exploration and expression. With a vision rooted in a decidedly dark Irish landscape and the dauntless spirit of defiance and resilience particular to Irish literature and music, the collection was a tour de force, earning him a place on DNR’s Designers to Watch. 

Sold in high-end, leading-edge boutiques throughout the US and Japan, the Punk and Goth-infused collection soon became coveted by notable dissenting fashiona the world over, including seminal art rocker Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music) and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, for whom the collection formed the core of his on-stage wardrobe.  

Irish-born New York-based fashion trailblazer Daniel Moloney’s latest collection under the NAMARA label (named for his family’s shop in Ireland’s County Clare) turns his artistic attention to women – women with that same penchant for the brazenly imaginative, unapologetically dark, provocatively edgy outsider high style with which Moloney’s work has become synonymous. 

Moloney designed this NAMARA collection for women with the soul of a poet, the burning heart of a punk rocker, and the discerning, insightful eye of an artist. She’s a dyed-in-the-wool iconoclast; fearlessly defying expectations, turning heads, and thumbing her nose at the preconceived confines of convention. To her, the mainstream is anathema – the only thing pop that resonates with her is Iggy. Her stylistic sensibilities pay homage to visionaries like Westwood and Quant, and celebrate the disarming audacity and power of artists such as Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Sinéad O'Connor, and Patti. 

NAMARA designs don’t push the envelope, they tear it up and toss it into the ether – rendering traditional notions of what is feminine and masculine obsolete and unnecessary. The collection creates artistic truth out of contrast and disruption – where hard loves soft, glamorous embraces gritty and deconstruction walks hand in hand with meticulous architecture and finish. 

In the world of NAMARA, bon vivant dances with disaffection, silk cuddles with steel, fine organic cotton has a pint with leather, and rich runs wild with ragged. The visual vibe is unmistakably edgy and raw, yet the pieces are imbued with luxuriant wearability and comfort.