YOUNG Donegal fashion designer Dominic Sweeney has launched a new fashion label ‘Aphrodisiac and Greed’ in France.
Dominic Sweeney and co-founder Maëva Picart launched their 35 day pre-order crowdfunding campaign at ulule.com yesterday.
Speaking to the Donegal News from Paris, Dominic said seeing his label on t-shirts was the culmination of years of hard work.
The son of John and Mireille Sweeney, Crumlin, Ardara, Dominic (27) attended St Columba’s Comprehensive School in Glenties before going to France to study Fashion/Apparel Design at Studio Bercot in Paris. He first connected with Maëva over joint projects while they were fashion students.
Aphrodisiac and Greed’s 100% European flax certified knitted linen t-shirts are manufactured in Northern France and screen-printed in Paris. They form a growing trend of fashion labels leaving the fashion week calendar and adopting the pre-order model.
“All pre orders will cover the costs of spinning, manufacturing and printing – we need to sell 180 t-shirts before we can go into production. It’s the best way for a new brand starting off and gives us the funds needed to go into production.
“It can be difficult starting off when you don’t have any investors behind you – like us – but at the same time it’s a good way to start off and to test the market,” he said.
“Everyone that joins the crowdfunding campaign gets something back. There’s different tiers. There’s the 100% linen printed t-shirt “made in France”, alongside a range of branded pins, stickers and limited edition prints. We’ll also have cards with seeds to grow your own herbs. We like to use plants a lot in our design choices,” he said.
The launch of Aphrodisiac and Greed’s campaign signals a welcome return for craft and artisan-led fashion labels in 2021, by partnering with Patrimoine Vivant suppliers (a certification set up by the French state to distinguish excellent craftsmanship) and local screen printing artisans.
Story tellers at heart – Aphrodisiac and Greed didn’t let lockdown life confine their creative expression. As their name suggests, escapism and fantasy became more urgent than before, guiding them to harness their passion for creative solutions. With the traditional model and photographer format out of the picture, Maëva and Dominic transformed their apartment into a photo set, and both modelled and shot their own printed linen t-shirts.
“That was a bit of fun. Lockdown forced our incubator programme to go virtual and delayed future factory visits so we had to adapt to the new normal.
“From organising our production chain, attending physical now turned digital workshops, working only from our bedroom/kitchen… it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions” he added.
Since the cost of creating knits in France is higher than producing overseas, this new way of launching locally and independently allows for smaller businesses and suppliers to grow organically.
“Working closely with independent screen printers and domestic manufactures allow us to stay true to our vision, without sacrificing on creativity or quality” he said.
Dominic and Maëva participated in the Astrolabe incubator programme for young businesses and are now launching their crowdfunding campaign on Ulule.com
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