From school competitions to fashion week runways: Meet Tipperary designer Róisín Heffernan

From a recycled fashion competition in secondary school to the runways of Ireland Fashion Week, Róisín Heffernan has been turning heads with her Dublin-based label, So Roe.

Founded in 2024, the brand offers made-to-order garments in Róisín’s feminine style as well as curated drops of limited edition pieces.

In 2025, So Roe made its runway debut at Ireland Fashion Week, and Róisín was recently named in the Irish Independent 30 Under 30 list, recognising her as one of Ireland’s rising creative entrepreneurs.

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They’re impressive achievements for a brand still in its early days – though the seeds of So Roe were planted years earlier, when friends described her creations as unmistakably “so Róisín”.

“I started getting into fashion when I was in secondary school,” she says. “I took part in Junk Couture in transition year when I attended the Ursuline in Thurles, and loved it.

“I then decided to do fashion in college and studied at the Limerick School of Art and Design, where I studied a Level 8 Bachelor of Fashion Design for four years.”

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Róisín continued to pursue fashion after completing her degree, by working in the industry in London and Barcelona for a few months. She then moved to Dublin and studied for a Postgraduate Certificate in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship at Trinity College.

“I then went on to study at UCD for a professional diploma in innovation purchase,” she says. “These courses gave me the foundations to open my own studio in Dublin.”

Róisín’s studio is based in Harold’s Cross in the heart of Dublin, where every piece of clothing ordered on her website is handmade to order.

“I like for my designs to be very feminine, I like ruffles and fringe,” she says. “Particularly I love textured fabrics. I first started posting designs on my Instagram and then moved to having my own website.

“Everything is sold through my website, soroesdesign.ie. It would be nice to do a pop-up shop in the future, though.”

Róisín derives much of her inspiration from the materials she works with.

“I get quite inspired by a particular fabric,” she says. “I see a certain fabric and I know what I’d like to make with it straight away.”

Describing the design process of creating her unique pieces, Róisín says that mood and colour boards are an important part of the process to map out her ideas clearly.

“I also focus on colour themes and everything is hand sketched first,” she says. “I then work from the sketches to make a sample of the garment. If any adjustments need to be made I make them before I cut into the fabric I use for the final pieces.”

Minimising waste and promoting sustainability is very important to Róisín.

“It’s just myself and a seamstress working together to create the designs,” she says. “Everything is made to order, but I sometimes do limited edition drops where I make a small amount of a design and drop them on my website.

"They’re limited edition, unique pieces that people love to buy because it’s something that’s a one-off.”

Speaking about why sustainability is more important than ever, she says, “There’s so much fashion out there that it’s important for me to create things that are meaningful and gather the least amount of waste possible.”

“I’m very careful that when I choose my fabrics and patterns I don’t have any waste.”

When asked how she faces the common issue of balancing originality with current trends, Róisín offers a unique perspective.

“I don’t really go off current trends, because I work at my own pace and off my own designs,” she says.

“I like to always think that I create something on my own with every piece I make and thankfully people like them. I don’t really keep up with trends because they change so quickly, I prefer to make pieces that are more timeless and more original to myself.”

Frills and femininity are words that come to mind when you see So Roe’s designs. Looking at Róisín’s website, it’s clear that her feminine pieces are a perfect choice to create a Valentine’s date night outfit.

Róisín says you can’t go wrong with classic reds.

“The obvious colour that springs to mind is red,” she says. “It’s a symbol of love. Pinks are great also and creams. All those colours, on their own or together, are a very nice mix for Valentine’s Day.

“My pieces have been described before as being quite romantic. I think the volume, flow and frills of some of my clothes have a romantic feel to them.”

For anyone interested in purchasing So Roe pieces, check out the website every four to six weeks for limited edition drops.

Any updates about Róisín’s designs are posted to her website and social media pages: TikTok @soroedesign, Instagram @soroedesign and soroedesign.ie