Comfy glam: The Irish-designed mules for every occasion

It is rare that an Irish fashion footwear brand achieves almost overnight success, let alone become established in a country with no formal training in footwear design. Some have tried; most recently in the early 2000s Nina Divito was a momentary star, and others like Carmel Imelda Walsh are trained shoemakers but not currently active. And of course there are the specialists like Tuttys, established more than 70 years ago making handmade shoes to order, and Dubarry deck shoes and country boots have a worldwide reputation. But fashion shoes for women?

Enter Nicki Hoyne from Thomastown in Kilkenny, who last year launched a collection of tasselled flats in six colours that were both comfortable and glamorous. They hit their stride almost immediately, and within weeks were shipping to 20 countries worldwide.

“I am a flat shoe girl and a person who likes comfort – these shoes you can wear to a pub, you can wear with jeans and a T-shirt, you can wear to a dinner – they are for everything, dressy but casual,” she says. “And I always wanted a bit of glitter, a pop of red, a bit of embellishment.” There are tasselled flats in patent red leather or in shiny sequins, or Mary Jane mules in red suede or leopard print with contrast straps.

At a recent viewing of her collection, I saw a mother with her young child both equally smitten by the sparkly sequinned numbers. All the shoes are made in a family run factory in Alicante known for its craftsmanship, from materials sourced in Europe and certified recycled fabrics. They are very well made, earning Hoyne the Irish Design Institute’s Rising Star status, as well as a runner-up in the Business Design Challenge by DCCI. “I wanted to take my time and get it right,” she says.

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It’s not the first enterprise that this hardworking and resourceful entrepreneur has founded; business being an integral part of the family DNA. Her parents, Cathy and Michael Hoyne, encouraged her to follow her own star from an early age, “though starting a business was expected of me”, she says. An early drama stint in the Liberties in Bull Alley – “that got all the messing out of me” – led to a course in Business Enterprise in IADT in which she flourished. From there she worked in field marketing in the late 1990s between London and Ireland for brands like Coty, Calvin Klein and Chloe, becoming very experienced in digital marketing and technology.

Back in Ireland she launched My Shining Armour, an online statement jewellery and accessories site. With a practised eye for current trends and use of social media, it became very successful, shipping to 40 countries all over the world. “I love being productive, but I was getting bored with it,” she recalls. The idea of her own line started to take shape in 2018 when she decided to do a footwear masterclass with Fiona Campbell in the London College of Fashion, and later made contact with shoe designer Olivia Morris who mentored her for six months. In November 2020 she launched her first collection of tasselled flats in eight colours, “in a very classic shape and style but I put a twist on it by throwing something wild at it”. In the meantime she also produced a range of bags.

Her latest collection includes mules with the same va va voom vibe, along with a number of handbags (which, she says, are easy compared with shoes). Having taken part in Create in Brown Thomas and in the trade show Scoop in London in July, her aim is for further expansion, and to be stocked in specialist boutiques. In the meantime she will have her first standalone popup shop in Kildare Village for four weeks from August 17th. nickihoyne.com

Taylor Yates

Another innovative Irish accessories brand with a difference, founded by mother and daughter Karen and Ellen Yates in Bushmills in 2016 with a range of handmade luxury leather bags, is now moving into knitwear. What makes Taylor Yates’s bags interesting is not only their design and craftsmanship, but also that they are made using surplus leather sourced as a byproduct of food production. Each bag is named after strong women in Karen’s life with whom she grew up. Alice, for instance, ran a corner shop and never went anywhere without her handbag and lipstick; Auntie Mavis loved making and could do anything with a needle and thread.

Karen’s extensive experience working for Desmond & Sons, once one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Northern Ireland mostly making for Marks & Spencer, combined with her daughter Ellen’s degree in business and marketing and their combined love of clothes inform every aspect of the collection. Their approach is practical, the design minimalist and fluid in limited colour ways. There are drawstrings, clutches, shoulder, crossbodies and a lightweight tote at prices from €172 up to €575.

Their new collection of knitwear in superfine merino, called Orla, is committed to the same principles of sustainability. It has classic styles like tank tops, slash neck tops and slipovers in understated colours including navy, ink blue, teal and grey marl. Prices are from €145 to €200.

The company was recently awarded the Butterfly Mark, that identifies luxury brands that meet the highest standards of transparency and environmental performance, and they also plant a tree for every handbag sold – in 2020 they planted 1,000.

Although the brand launched online initially, they now have a very stylish shop on the main street in Bushmills, Co Antrim. Visit them there or at tayloryates.com