Tales From My Wardrobe: Designer Sarah Plunkett-Chadwick

The co-founder of Queens of Archive and founder of MNÁ shares her fashion influences and the women who have shaped her style … 

“I’ve worked in fashion for more than 20 years and in 2020 I co-founded Queens of Archive. Building that brand from the ground up was an incredible chapter of my life and taught me an enormous amount, but eventually I knew I wanted to start again and create something that felt completely and instinctively me. That became MNÁ. Starting again from zero after already building one brand was daunting, but there was also something incredibly liberating about it. I knew so much more about who I was, both as a woman and creatively, and I wanted the new brand to reflect that.

“MNÁ is deeply connected to my own wardrobe and the women who have shaped me. I grew up in Dublin surrounded by strong women and matriarchs; I’ve lived in cities that completely changed the way I look at clothes. My 20s taught me how to discover fashion; my 30s taught me how to build a career in it. Both became a huge part of my style evolution and, ultimately, the eye I have today. I don’t believe our relationship with fashion becomes less interesting as we get older. If anything, mine has become much more certain. I don’t want smaller shoulders, less metallics or quieter clothes. I’m not interested in turning the volume down just because I’m getting older.

“Some of the pieces I’ve chosen for Tales From My Wardrobe have directly inspired things I’ve designed; others tell stories about the women, places and experiences that ultimately led me here. It changes all the time, but right now my favourite thing in my wardrobe is probably the Wilde cape from MNÁ. I’ve always loved clothes with drama and movement, and there’s something about throwing a cape over something very simple that completely changes how you feel.

“I also live in the Erin jacket, strong oversized padded shoulders, very 1980s power dressing wrapped in one of my favourite prints: snakeskin. The original inspiration came from a vintage jacket I found in my friend Emma’s beautiful vintage store www.revorvintage.com. I loved the proportions and took that idea of the exaggerated shoulder and cinched waist and reworked it. Both pieces sum up my style quite well: I like clothes that have presence. I’m constantly looking backwards to create something that feels relevant now.

“The most sentimental item in my wardrobe is my wedding dress from The Vampire’s Wife. My husband and I eloped to New York in 2017 and I knew I didn’t want to look traditionally bridal. I chose this incredible dress in a shimmering silver metallic 100 per cent silk and wore it with silver boots. Walking through the streets of New York in it is still one of my favourite memories. At the time, that particular style hadn’t actually been released yet. The Vampire’s Wife made it from scratch for me and went out of their way to make sure it was finished in time for us to leave for New York. They were incredibly warm, accommodating and genuinely seemed to care about making it happen for me. I remember thinking at the time, if I ever have my own brand one day, this is how I want people to feel. I’ll keep the dress forever.

“There’s also a piece from MNÁ that carries a different kind of sentiment for me which is the Tessie top, named after my Nanny Tessie. Tessie was my first understanding of what it meant to come from a family of strong Irish matriarchs – strong, funny, glamorous, resilient and never afraid to have a voice. Their strength is in me and has given me the courage to keep following my own dreams, even when that has meant starting again or taking a risk. That’s become part of the language of MNÁ, and so many of the pieces are named after women who have influenced me, personally or culturally.