'Met Gala style' spectacle as sustainable Restyle fashion show comes to Galway city this Sunday

The event features the Claddagh Chamber Choir, TULCA, Julia Monard and Gustave, Seek the Historic, Paula Kilgarriff and Pamela Heaney and forms part of ReStyle Galway, a weekend-long sustainable fashion expo happening across the city, marking the beginning of Irish Design Week in the West.

For Olivia, however, the ambition extends far beyond a single weekend.

"This will be preparation for year two and onwards" she said. “I an so excited”.

"We will be planning our outfits six months in advance. It's like the Met Gala comes to Galway, why not? St Nicholas' Collegiate Church is a stunning venue."

With Dublin already hosting major fashion events, and Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson set to bring Dior's Pre-Fall 2027 runway show to Trinity College Dublin in December, Olivia believes Galway has the creativity and talent to claim its own place on Ireland's fashion calendar.

"Dublin has two beautiful, amazing fashion weeks," she said.

"Can we get a slice of this pie?

"This is an innovative way of looking at sustainable funding, making circularity sustainable and making existing infrastructure work.”

Olivia has previously called on the Government to introduce subsidies for sustainable fashion businesses.

She raised the issue with Minister of State Thomas Byrne TD at a City Hall briefing ahead of Ireland's 2026 Presidency of the Council of the EU, arguing that businesses working in clothing reuse and repair need structural support to remain financially viable.

Now, through her involvement with ReStyle Ireland, she hopes to demonstrate how that support could translate into opportunities for local designers, makers and young creatives.

"This is a full circle moment," she said.

Her vision is to create "an abundance of creative opportunities" in Galway.

The fashion show itself promises to be a celebration of individuality, with designers bringing everything from upcycled garments and heritage fabrics to contemporary high fashion onto the runway.

A number of designers will arrive with collections fresh from Dublin Fashion Week, while others may unveil entirely new pieces.

Olivia hopes the event will encourage Galway people to embrace fashion as an art form and an opportunity for self-expression.

"This is your time, your space to capture someone's imagination," she said.

"It's like going to an art gallery and being captivated by a painting.

“That's what an outfit is, especially at a fashion event when people know what they are doing. It could be avant-garde streetwear, it could be vintage Hollywood glam.

"We know what we are doing in Galway. It's the home of the Galway Races. Let's be real, we know how to dress up."

While the evening has a black-tie dress code, Olivia is keen that people do not feel excluded by the formality of the occasion.

"You can wear anything you want," she said.

"You can go in your jeans if you want to watch. Just come along."

She also believes the runway can offer something beyond the clothes themselves.

"A fashion show is not just watching people walk up and down," she said.

"It's watching people build confidence in themselves by walking the catwalk."

Olivia's love of fashion began at home, watching her mother Margaret, who worked as a dressmaker in Tuam.

Her own work for the event will draw on a recent period studying traditional textile techniques in China, where she explored heritage crafts including mud silk.

Mud silk is a traditional plant-dyed fabric with a distinctive appearance created through a process involving natural dyes, mud and sunlight.

Olivia was particularly fascinated by the fabric's contrasting surfaces and the traditional craftsmanship behind its production.

"The sun makes one side of the fabric look like leather, the other side looks like suede," she explained.

"It is beautiful and a heritage craft that came from fishermen.

"It is reversible, showing the two sides of the one coin."

"I never saw these processes before, and it is very interesting to bring that back from China.”

Her collection also features pieces created from discarded knitwear, including the backs of jumpers that would otherwise have been destined for landfill.

For Olivia, sustainability is not simply about buying second-hand clothing, but about valuing the materials, craftsmanship and creativity that go into making garments.

She believes locally designed clothing, made using local fabrics and supporting local makers, offers another way of thinking about sustainable fashion.

That philosophy will be reflected throughout 'Heritage by Design', which will bring together upcycling designers, sustainable high-fashion collections, vintage retailers, Irish milliners and accessory makers.

The evening will begin with a fireside conversation between Laura Fitzachary of Seek the Historic and designer and IADT fashion lecturer Pamela Heaney, exploring the heritage of Irish fashion.

The runway show will then take place against the historic backdrop of St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, accompanied by a live choir, music and poetry.

The wider ReStyle Galway weekend, taking place on November 7 and 8, will feature workshops, repair cafés, clothing swaps, demonstrations, exhibitions and a sustainable fashion marketplace across venues including Electric Galway, LIVVS Studio and the Galway COPE Charity Shop.

ReStyle Ireland is a not-for-profit initiative run by The Environmental Forum, with funding from the Irish Environmental Network, MyWaste and the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, and delivered in Galway in partnership with LIVVS Studio.

ReStyle Ireland coordinator Theo Dillon said the event is about changing people's relationship with the clothes they wear.

"We need to re-imagine and remember our relationship with clothes, making and repairing them ourselves and thrifting second-hand, borrowing and lending when we can," he said.

The weekend will place particular emphasis on practical skills, including garment alteration, embroidery, knitting, weaving and zero-waste textile practices.

Most events will be free to attend, with tickets available for workshops and activities with limited capacity.

For Olivia, who has a background in Psychology, the event has wider significance.

And while 'Heritage by Design' is only in its first year in Galway, she is already looking towards what the event could become.

“This is so good for Galway,” she said.

“This is about intergenerational connection, wellness, creativity and skills development for young people. Young people are creative and that energy is hard to hold.”

The 'Heritage by Design' fashion show takes place at St Nicholas' Collegiate Church on Sunday, November 8, from 6.30pm to 9pm.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale, while the wider ReStyle Galway weekend will offer a programme of mostly free events across the city.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite, and further information can be found on ReStyle Ireland's social media channels.