Chloe MooreChloe Moore sits down with Emporium, one of Ireland’s powerhouse streetwear brands, at the forefront of a new wave of Dublin creatives who are reshaping the city’s cultural identity and reclaiming their narrative on their own terms.
Dublin’s streetwear scene has grown rapidly in recent years, with a new wave of brands carving out their own identity beyond international influence. At the forefront of that movement is Emporium, a community-led project that began as a grassroots pop-up and has since evolved into one of the city’s most recognisable names. Rooted in locality, collaboration, and culture, the brand has stayed true to its DIY ethos while steadily building a platform for Irish design.
As the brand continues to grow, we spoke to Robbie about their origins, their connection to Dublin, and the vision driving Emporium forward.
We caught up with the team behind Emporium to talk about their journey so far, the importance of community, and what it means to represent Irish streetwear on a global stage.
Thank you so much for chatting with me! Emporium started as a creative project between friends, at what point did it begin to feel like something bigger?
Honestly, pretty quickly in some respects, it’s been a long journey to get to where we’re at now, but the support we had from our community from the jump was huge. Back in 2018, we felt like the growth of the streetwear scene here was only a matter of time. We wanted to be here to plant the flag for Ireland.
How would you define Emporium today beyond just a streetwear brand?
Emporium is a community-led brand; it’s about locality, about the city we come from and all the inspirations and references that have shaped who we are and what we admire.
So, you’ve mentioned wanting to make an impact on Dublin’s scene. What did you feel was missing when you started out?
When we started out, we weren’t a brand. Emporium was a pop-up that brought together 10 of our favourite designers from across Ireland to pop up together, hoping to help build a streetwear scene that we felt didn’t exist here yet, as it did in other European cities.
We wanted to see people wearing brands from Ireland, instead of just throwing on pieces from whatever American brand was popping off at the time. It’s been a wild experience to see the scene growing over the last few years.
The importance of physical connection is evident in Emporium’s journey, from its initial pop-ups to the current Drury Street store. How has this sense of community underpinned the brand?
It’s always been the part of streetwear, music and the creative scene at large that interested us the most. Meeting the people who designed a brand, getting a feel for why they make what they do, what they’re about, that’s always been the most energising part of following something for us. We want to see the faces behind the names, talk shop and be a real part of the world that we inhabit.
Do you feel a responsibility to represent Irish streetwear on a wider, global stage?
For sure, we want the next generation of brand makers and creatives to go further, and to know that you can do this shit from a bedroom in Dublin until it goes global.
From printing on blank garments to creating full cut-and-sew collections, what are the most significant learning curves you’ve encountered?
Oh man, there’s been some steep ones over the last few years. There are some things that can only be learned through mistakes, and when figuring out how to design and produce cut and sew, there will be big mistakes. Learning how to navigate that and how to endure the waves, that stands out.
How do you balance scaling the brand while keeping that original DIY ethos intact?
I think that this has come pretty naturally, because it’s still just us and our friends making clothes. The only real difference is that we get to do it as a full-time job now. We’re still figuring it out as we go along, always learning, still doing it ourselves.
How important is storytelling within each drop or collection?
It’s a big part of it. When you’re debuting a big season collection, it can be tough to keep all the ideas within one narrative, but it’s always cool to see the story and the clothes coming together.
How important is the crossover between fashion and music culture for you?
Huge, music culture is *the culture*, some of the most iconic subgenres of fashion are the everyday uniforms of followers of particular music genres. We all know what ‘punk’ looks like; we know how hip hop culture subverted preppy brands like Ralph Lauren into street staples. Music leads, and in many respects, fashion follows.
What’s the long-term vision for Emporium?
Keep pushing; we feel like we’re at the foot of the mountain.
