For this week’s Spotlight On feature we’re focusing on Irish fashion entrepreneur Edel Lyons.
This year, Edel launched Rag Revolution, a premium fashion rental service that allows the sustainably stylish to don the most on-trend pieces without having to commit to the full cost of the item on the pocket or the planet.
Edel is curating a community of stylish women through her platform, who want to keep their wardrobes up-to-date while reducing the impact of over-consumption of fast fashion.
Her platform rents dresses from huge labels such as Rixo, Reformation, Olivia Rubin and Self-Portrait, and has been utilized by Irish influencers and celebrities such as Roz Purcell and Michele McGrath.
1. What made you become interested in fashion and the fashion industry originally?
I loved clothes from a very young age, I remember as a young girl every weekend I used to visit my cousin’s house. We’d take over my aunt’s bedroom and wardrobe, she had the most gorgeous pieces and I only wished she had kept them for me now. I spend my afternoons putting different looks together and my cousin and I would also on occasion try her wedding and bridesmaid dresses, we absolutely loved it!
I started picking my own outfits from the age of 6 and when I became a teenager I started babysitting to save up money for the coolest pieces that were in fashion then. From a very young age, I loved fashion and I always knew I’d end up working in the industry, but I just didn’t know where.
2. How did you conceive the idea for Rag Revolution?
Over the last few years, I’d become more aware of the effect that fashion and fast fashion particularly has on the environment. I began to try to be more conscious of my purchases and borrowing when it was possible. I remember being very frustrated and guilty at buying certain pieces, only wearing them once and how that was negatively impacting the environment.
I began to realise that consuming fashion like that was not sustainable for me or the planet. I had a lot of events over the last year (weddings, christenings, balls) and I wanted something different for each occasion but felt bad knowing I would probably never wear it again. I saw a dress from a brand I love and I remember thinking I would be happy to rent that dress rather than buy. I did a little research and couldn’t find anything in Ireland that catered for what I wanted in terms of style and sustainability and thus Rag Revolution was born.
3. What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
Some of the pros include: I get to follow my passion and work in an industry I’ve always wanted to work in. Having the freedom to be creative and develop something you have total autonomy over.
Enjoying the flexibility being completely in control of your working hours. Overall not having to answer to anyone but yourself can also be a con. Although there are a lot of pros, of course, there are cons, when you run your own business you never really switch off and it’s impossible not to be thinking of what you need to do next for the business. It can also be tough as all the pressure and burden falls on you.
4. What advice would you give to anyone hoping to launch their own start-up?
If you see a gap or an opportunity and you’ve always wanted to set up your own business, do some research, talk to your friends and if the majority of them agree or believe in it then just go for it. Take the risk, it might fail, but it also may be a massive success. I’ve just launched Rag Revo and there were a lot of doubts, tears and freakouts, but when I actually launched I was blown away by the reaction and the support.
I genuinely didn’t believe it would take off so fast. I think we’re brought up to fear failure but it’s only in my late 20’s that I realised that failure is a necessary part of success, you need to fail to learn and grow. I guess what I am trying to say is if you have a good idea and it’s always something you wanted to do then don’t be afraid to fail at it and as Samuel Beckett’s once said. “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
5. How do you maintain a work/life balance?
This is probably something I am not doing great at right now and it’s something that I am actually going to consciously work at going forward. I love going to the gym, eating right and spending time with my friends and family but over the last few weeks, this has been challenging with the launch of the business. I am going to work set hours and make sure I am getting enough time to myself and with friends and family.
6. What did you do before starting your business?
I worked in marketing, media and tech.
7. What has the most exciting moment been for you on your Rag Revolution venture?
I listen to a lot of entrepreneur podcasts like Tim Ferris and the entrepreneur on fire and I remember a few months or maybe even last year one entrepreneur said the most exciting moment was when he made his first sale online and honestly the first sale has been the most exciting moment of Rag Revo to date because up until that point I was thinking maybe this won’t take off, maybe this will fail but when the first sale came through on the day we launched it was a massive relief and it gave me the assurance I needed after weeks of working non stop trying to launch the business
8. What’s next for you?
I am going to work tirelessly to make Rag Revolution a success over the next 12 months. It’s always been my dream to live and work in London so I hope to launch in London and run the business from both Dublin and London.
Ad
