Ireland-born menswear designer Rory Parnell Mooney established his eponymous label in 2015, having graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins Fashion Masters in 2014.

An initial collection, which took inspiration from the ecclesiastical vestments of nuns encountered in childhood, and the ritualistic dress codes of European protest movements, saw him attract attention from talent incubator Fashion East.

There, as part of Fashion East/MAN, he showed three runway collections and a fourth as part of an intimate on-schedule presentation at London Fashion Week Men’s. Each was preoccupied with the ritual art of dressing; combining various subcultural references with the excess and abundance of traditional couture.

Following a break, in which he has found an effortless new way of working, on his own terms and in a new studio, he relaunched his label in 2019 – now simply Parnell Mooney – with new clarity and purpose.

At heart is the idea of oppositions: masculine versus feminine, utility versus eroticism, hard versus soft. Fabrics are contradictory, from the elegant – moiré silk, paper-thin cotton organza – to the everyday – lumberjack-check flannel, army-issue canvas, skin-tight jersey.

Under Parnell Mooney, his collections have featured in a number of British and International publications, including i-D, Dazed, AnOther, LOVE, 10 Magazine, Metal, and more.