Lots of young girls, and boys too, dream of becoming a fashion model or running their own fashion label but very few of them get to live their dream like 19 year-old Bettystown woman Maiya McMonagle has done.
Not only has Maiya created her own fashion range, she is also a model of international standing and has been chosen to represent Louth in the Miss Ireland competition which takes place at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar on August 20.
Maiya first came to the attention of Drogheda Life in 2013 when she established her own fashion brand at just ten years of age. Shortly after that she opened a shop in the Abbey Centre in Drogheda.
As well as designing and modelling Maiya is also passionate about creating awareness of climate change, she started her sustainable fashion brand as a hobby to highlight the need for change in the fashion industry.
Maiya began her journey into sustainable fashion, creating recycled fabrics following the mantra- reduce, reuse and recycle and it wasn’t long before news of this bright young Irish Nigerian Fashion Designer/Model spread throughout the international fashion world.
By the time she was eleven, Maiya was already receiving rave reviews in Ireland as well as in the UK, USA, Paris, Bhutan and Africa and catching the attention of designers including world-famous, but now sadly departed, celebrity designer Rocky Gathercole.
Through features in glossy magazines such as Lifestyle Monthly, Flawless, Fusion and Vogue UK, Maiya continued to promote her message about the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry.
Maiya is sticking to her sustainability principals for her Miss Ireland campaign and has called in the help of the Drogheda branch of St. Vincent de Paul who have provided her with second hand dresses from their shop which the young designer will take a part and use the fabric to make her own creations for the Miss Ireland catwalk.
Recycling is central to everything Maiya does as is supporting local business and her main sponsor is Sullivan Property Consultants which is where she works.
Other sponsors are
- M fitness (19 year old local Drogheda woman started her own business)
- Alisha Thornton Beauty (19 year old local Drogheda woman started her own makeup business.
- HBA Studio Dublin a luxury hair salon in Dublin, looking after all her hair for events
- Captured By DW – local 19 year old girl again started her own photography business
- Mornington Vocal Academy who are sponsoring singing lessons to get her ready for the talent show on Sunday
- NailsBy WS – another 19 year old local woman who started her own nails business)
