Passion For Fashion
The O’Rourke family business has been trading for 90 years in the notoriously fickle clothing industry. Chief executive Colm O’Rourke tells Kathleen O’Callaghan how the company has managed to stay ahead of the fashion pack
It was all happening in Ireland in 1933. Fianna Fáil won its first overall majority in Dáil Éireann, and the republican party voted to remove the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. Taoiseach Éamon de Valera hosted the first state reception in Dublin Castle, and sugar beet processing was nationalised. Fine Gael was established, and the Blueshirts were banned.
In the business world, in October 1933 fabric agent Frank O’Rourke and clothing manufacturer Joe Taaffe incorporated company number 8543, which still operates today as Graine O’Rourke Models Ltd. Frank O’Rourke bought out his business partner in 1955 and today his descendants Colm and Marc O’Rourke are still at the helm, with some of their children involved in the business too. One reason for this family business reaching 90 not out is that it has developed a strong export business under the Peruzzi brand.
FashionHSE, the trading name, is a mainstay of Fashion City, the cluster of fashion firms that relocated from Dublin city centre to Ballymount at the turn of the century. Fashion House, the company’s west Dublin premises, consists of 12,000 sq. ft of showrooms and offices, complemented by a 37,000 sq. ft warehouse.
Chief executive Colm O’Rourke (66) owns the business with his cousin Marc O’Rourke (55), the company sales director. Colm’s daughter Ailbhe and his son Collie have also joined the team. So how has the O’Rourke enterprise survived through the generations? “Fashion is very volatile and it is important to recognise opportunities when they come along and to grab them, as standing still is not an option,” Colm explains. “Although our clothing manufacturing
business commenced in the 1930s, it wasn’t until the 1960s that we started to expand and looked outwards beyond our shores.
“Ireland under de Valera was very introspective, and things only began to change under Sean Lemass. The IDA and Córas Tráchtala were established and exporters began to explore new markets and find fresh opportunities.”