by Matthew Foley
Eight months ago, in April this year, Dylan Murphy decided to launch streetwear clothing brand “XiV”.
The aim of the brand was to create a community in which people can pride themselves in expressing Irish culture through clothing.
XiV represents the 14 stages of Ireland’s famous Wild Atlantic Way which runs from Kinsale in Cork all the way to Malin in Donegal.
In the company’s short life-span, Dylan has managed to create a following of thousands online who are passionate about the brand and the message behind it.
Dylan, who lives in Killybegs, spoke about always having an entrepreneurial knack to him.
“I’ve always had a strong interest in business entrepreneurship but I feel like the drive for it really kicked in during lockdown. I had to stop working and I wasn’t old enough to get the Covid-19 payment so I started buying and selling anything I could make a profit on,” he said.
The 21-year-old continued to work hard and earlier this year officially launched XiV.
He believes that Ireland’s beautiful landscape is something that we need to show off as much as possible.
“There’s a reason why Ireland is such a popular tourist destination. I think sometimes we are too spoiled by having these sights right at our doorstep to see how lucky we are.
“XiV stands for the 14 stages of the Wild Atlantic Way. Not only is it a way to give Irish people a way to express their culture, but I believe the brand can help those who are not from Ireland learn more about our rich culture, diverse heritage and our beautiful landscapes.”
Like all those who start a business, it will come with immense challenges. Dylan, who also has a full-time job while running XiV, says that despite the tough times that come with running a business, he wouldn’t change a thing.
“There’s always new challenges to deal with to be honest. Starting the business has had many learning curves from the actual legal side of setting up your own business to learning how to pay taxes.
“Finding the highest quality suppliers was also important to me, all of our items are sustainable but I had to go through plenty of suppliers to find the best quality I could. I did an online course in digital marketing which has helped so much when it comes to running the brand’s social media pages. It can be stressful and overwhelming at times, especially trying to run the business while also having a full-time job working 40 hours a week, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Another challenge in modern day business, especially with social media involved is standing out from the crowd. Dylan knew that he had a great niche with promoting Irish culture, but he wanted to go that extra step to make XiV truly unique and special.
“The support from the start has been incredible. In this day and age there are thousands of clothing brands you can buy from, so the main thing is showing customers why they should spend their hard earned money on an XiV jumper instead of a Nike or Carhartt hoodie. I have attempted to combat this by creating a community amongst the brand.
“I started off by making a series on Tiktok where I challenged myself to create a clothing brand in 100 days. Since most of the marketing is through Instagram and Tiktok it gave me a chance to really get to know my customers and find out what they like and don’t like as well as getting to know them on a personal level. Going forward even if the brand grows, I want to keep that personal relationship with the customers and to make sure they know they aren’t just a number on a screen.”
Despite the success on social media with the brand, Dylan also makes sure to keep up with physical promotion of XiV.
From driving and setting up stalls at markets all over the country to attending business events, he is dedicated to making XiV reach as many people as possible.
“Social media is a non-negotiable for a business in the modern day and I do believe that if you don’t hop on a wave you will sink. At the same time, every chance I get I am out selling at markets and meeting customers in person. There is no better feeling than getting to meet someone face to face who has been supporting you from the start,” he said.
“There was a campaign called Buy Donegal, which is a brilliant idea created by the Donegal County Council. The Mount Errigal Hotel hosted around 20 businesses who had the chance to meet up and talk about their companies. The support in Donegal is unbelievable, even though we are such a big county, I really do feel we are tight knit.”
With inspirations such as Ben Francis from Gymshark and George Heaton from Represent, who have both created multi-million clothing brands, Dylan is dedicated to making XiV one of the most recognisable brands in Ireland.
“If you support a football or Gaelic team you would wear your club’s jersey. With XiV, I wanted to create something that gives people another way to represent where they are from and to wear their heritage on their back.
“There are a few big dreams I have, one of them being that XiV can have its own store in the future. The biggest goal I have at this point would be to get to a stage where all of our items are made from scratch and fully sustainable in Ireland. Currently our items are 100% sustainably made in factories around Europe but it would be incredible to get to the stage where everything is produced here in Ireland.”
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