After a whirlwind of live shows across Dublin, Paris and Abu Dhabi, the Tech Powered Luxury live podcast show finally made its way to Galway City, hosted at the vibrant Hyde Bar.

This event celebrated Irish heritage brands and brought together a community of creatives and entrepreneurs under the theme: Building Irish Heritage Brands.

✨Galway’s own Ashley McDonnell, brought the evening to life, leading insightful conversations with some of Ireland’s most exciting brand founders: Aoife McNamara, of her namesake B-Corp certified sustainable fashion brand; Chupi Sweetman of Ireland’s leading fine jewellery brand Chupi; Pádraic Micil of the sixth-generation Micil Distillery; and Charlene Flanagan of Ella & Jo, award-winning Irish skincare brand.

✨The evening didn’t stop at conversations; it also included a showcase of Galway’s finest local brands and retailers: Ór Jewellery, Les Jumelles, Emily Jean Atelier and The Fashion Studio.

This is the debut episode of Season 7 of Tech Powered Luxury, thank you for listening! Stay up to date on our community events, live shows and episode by https://techpoweredluxury.substack.com/https://techpoweredluxury.substack.com/

Welcome to Season 6 of Tech Powered Luxury, brought to you with Azure Communications!

This week on Tech Powered Luxury, we sit down with the Queen of Brows herself, Kim O’Sullivan. With over 14 years at Giorgio Armani, training under industry legends like Pat McGrath, and now expanding her brand globally, Kim has built an empire rooted in expertise, passion, and an obsession with perfect brows.

• • Kim fell into the beauty industry at 19 while working at Brown Thomas, where she was hired by Giorgio Armani Cosmetics - marking the start of a 14-year career with the luxury brand.✨
  • Training with beauty legends like Pat McGrath and Linda Cantello shaped her philosophy on beauty and service, setting the foundation for her own business. 🤍

• • Leaving Armani was a bold move driven by her desire for flexibility as a single mother, she took the plunge into entrepreneurship, starting out by renting a chair and building a loyal client base. 💫

  • Now, she owns Dublin Makeup Academy, has launched BrowAid in over 70 retailers across Ireland, and is expanding internationally. 🌍

  • With a goal to be the number one go-to brow brand, she’s focused on slow, steady growth, aiming for global reach through big retailers like Sephora and Ulta. 🚀

    
    

• For quite some time now, Azure has been our go-to provider for all things print and marketing. If you attended our⁠ ⁠Live from Paris Fashion Week⁠⁠ show in September last year, you would have seen our event magazines featuring all of the designers and creatives who played a part in the event and our beautiful invites - all created by Azure Communications - they know how to elevate events and marketing with a luxury and personalised touch.

  If you’re looking for top-tier branded collateral, print services, or marketing support, look no further because Azure Communications can take care of all of it.

  You can visit them at⁠ ⁠www.azurecomm.ie⁠⁠ or follow them on Instagram at @AzureCommunications.

  
  

  ABOUT

  Season 6 of ⁠Tech Powered Luxury⁠ is brought to you by luxury and tech entrepreneur ⁠Ashley McDonnell⁠. With 10 years of experience working at the crossroads of luxury and technology, Ashley carved out a career across Paris, Dublin and Geneva, working at LVMH, Dior, Google and luxury group PUIG. The podcast is also taught as a module at leading business and design schools around the world, with the goal to share insightful and actionable stories and experience from industry leaders.

  
  

  NEWSLETTER & COMMUNITY REWARDS

  Each week, we bring a dedicated newsletter as well as Community Rewards to Tech Powered Luxury listeners. Subscribe to our substack to have full access: ⁠https://techpoweredluxury.substack.com/⁠

  
  

  THE TECH POWERED LUXURY TEAM

  Producer & Host: Ashley McDonnell

  Videography: Ben O’Neill

  Photography: Anastasiia Redko, Anastasiia Lopushynska and Madeline Gillespie

  Production Assistants: Abigail Herbert, Gemma Brennan, Tessa Haughton Lynch, Grace Slattery and Klaudia Skierska

  Socials and Newsletter: Laoise O’Connell

  Styling: Johanna Dooley

  Styling Assistants: Cian Crowe and Alison Murphy

  Public Relations: Align Agency

  Content Creation: Kinsman & Co

Welcome to Season 6 of Tech Powered Luxury, brought to you with Azure Communications!

This week, we’re diving into the world of fashion, sculpture, and bespoke bridalwear with Irish designer Lia Cowan. Known for her statement-making designs, worn by none other than Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan, Lia’s journey from sculpture student to art teacher to fashion designer is incredible.

• Lia’s fashion journey took an unconventional path - she studied sculpture at NCAD, dreamed of becoming a teacher, and even spent three years teaching art in secondary school before realising something was missing. 👗

• A nudge from her fiancé, Max, who gifted her a sewing machine, set her on a new path. From making scrunchies to launching her namesake brand, Lia Cowan, she’s now a rising star in the fashion industry, moving into the bridal space with a bespoke approach. 👰🏽‍♀️

• Her designs, often sculptural and performative, draw inspiration from movement, ballet, and theatrical costume. With a slow fashion model, she creates custom, one-of-a-kind pieces that aim to continue pushing the boundaries of occasionwear. 💫

For quite some time now, Azure has been our go-to provider for all things print and marketing. If you attended our ⁠Live from Paris Fashion Week⁠ show in September last year, you would have seen our event magazines featuring all of the designers and creatives who played a part in the event and our beautiful invites - all created by Azure Communications - they know how to elevate events and marketing with a luxury and personalised touch.

If you’re looking for top-tier branded collateral, print services, or marketing support, look no further because Azure Communications can take care of all of it.

You can visit them at ⁠www.azurecomm.ie⁠ or follow them on Instagram at @AzureCommunications.

ABOUT

Season 6 of Tech Powered Luxury is brought to you by luxury and tech entrepreneur Ashley McDonnell. With 10 years of experience working at the crossroads of luxury and technology, Ashley carved out a career across Paris, Dublin and Geneva, working at LVMH, Dior, Google and luxury group PUIG. The podcast is also taught as a module at leading business and design schools around the world, with the goal to share insightful and actionable stories and experience from industry leaders.

NEWSLETTER & COMMUNITY REWARDS

Each week, we bring a dedicated newsletter as well as Community Rewards to Tech Powered Luxury listeners. Subscribe to our substack to have full access: https://techpoweredluxury.substack.com/

THE TECH POWERED LUXURY TEAM

Producer & Host: Ashley McDonnell

Videography: Ben O’Neill

Photography: Anastasiia Redko, Anastasiia Lopushynska and Madeline Gillespie

Production Assistants: Abigail Herbert, Gemma Brennan, Tessa Haughton Lynch, Grace Slattery and Klaudia Skierska

Socials and Newsletter: Laoise O’Connell

Styling: Johanna Dooley

Styling Assistants: Cian Crowe and Alison Murphy

Public Relations: Align Agency

Content Creation: Kinsman & Co