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Drawing inspiration from contemporary Irish culture and nostalgia, and a nod to their home county of Donegal, Cúpla Designs is a gorgeous pairing of Mirren and Brodie’s creative talents and playful charm.
Meet the Designers
Meet the Designers
"We’re Cúpla Designs, founded by us twins, Brodie and Mirren McFeely. We’re originally from Letterkenny, but are now based in Belfast. Our backgrounds are in different but complementary fields. Both graduates of Ulster University, Brodie studied Textile Art, Design and Fashion with a specialism in Knitwear, while Mirren studied Graphic Design and Illustration.
Brodie always knew she wanted to be a designer. She was always sewing away when we were younger and went straight into Fashion and Textiles. She’s always known this was her path. For Mirren, it was a bit different. She dabbled in sewing here and there; her strength has always been more in having the eye for design rather than doing the making. That mix is exactly what makes Cúpla work so well. Brodie can get stuck into the making, sewing, and pattern drafting, while Mirren focuses on the graphics and design direction. Between the two of us, we basically make one full designer! And honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way."
About Cúpla Designs
Mirren was awarded a Graduate in Residence in her field for 24/25 at Ulster University’s Belfast School of Art, which is when the ‘Greetings from Donegal’ clothing collection and cornerstone of the brand was born.
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"In 2024, we decided to bring our skills together to create Cúpla (which fittingly means twin in Irish). It’s something we’ve always wanted to do; combining our creativity and working side by side feels natural to us. The brand allows us to merge knitwear, illustration, and design into pieces that feel playful, personal, and distinctly ours. We’re excited to keep pushing ourselves, experimenting, and building Cúpla into something that continues to grow and evolve."
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Star Potential
Cúpla recently received their biggest gig to date when they were discovered by stylist Katie-Ruby McLaughlin Robinson also from Letterkenny. Katie selected Cúpla’s iconic Daniel O’Donnell dress for CMAT to wear in her ‘When A Good Man Cries’ music video which was filmed in Donegal, and CMAT totally fell in love with the design. She wore it again for her show her Belfast show in August while supporting Sam Fender, and again at the launch of her new album ‘Euro Country’ in Dublin. Cúpla made a bespoke copy of the original dress personally for CMAT, making it one of only two dresses to exist.
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Ulster University are incredibly proud to see the well-deserved praise and recognition Cúpla are receiving for their eye-catching and unique designs. The rising popularity of Cúpla Designs combined with the unmatched talent of these twins paves the way for a very exciting future filled with star potential for these Irish designers.
