Irish Design Spotlight: Drobey

Tell us about you and your brand
My name is Nicky Dwyer and I’m the owner and founder of Drobey, a fashion rental business. I studied Business and Economics at Trinity College Dublin as an undergraduate and then moved to London to pursue a master’s in Global Fashion Retailing at the London College of Fashion. On my return home from London, I felt that the rental market in Ireland was lagging behind that of the UK and noticed that everyone around me (including myself) was still buying into fast fashion. There weren’t really any rental offerings that appealed to me and I felt that something more needed to be done in the rental space in order for change to happen. That’s when Drobey was born.

I started working on Drobey in November of last year, but the idea was living in my head for the past year or so. I got the business up and running myself, but have just lured my sister Ella home from Australia to get involved, which I’m very excited about!

Drobey is a fashion rental platform that aims to take the guilt out of keeping up with fast-changing fashion trends and experimenting with new, one-off looks. We work with brands around the world to provide consumers with, what we believe to be, one of the best rental selections out there. The idea is that you invest in your staple wardrobe pieces, and rent the more expensive, one-off or statement pieces through Drobey (almost like your second wardrobe!). We’re big on the fact that rental should be a way of improving accessibility to high-end brands. A lot of designers and brands come with price points that can be inaccessible, particularly for younger generations. Drobey enables consumers to access these designer items for four, eight or 12 days, but at a fraction of the price of buying a new item. We have a showroom in Monkstown, Co. Dublin, where we offer 30-minute try-on appointments – booking is quick and easy through the link on our website!

Where did the name ‘Drobey’ come from? 
Everyone asks me where the name Drobey came from! It’s taken from the word ‘wardrobe’ – I wanted one catchy word and after a lot of deliberation, landed on this. It’s stuck ever since!

What is your mission?
To change the way people consume fashion, one rental at a time!

Did you always know you wanted to work in fashion?
Yes, working in fashion has always been a dream of mine! As soon as I finished my undergraduate degree, I moved to London and did my master’s in global fashion retailing at the London College of Fashion. My master’s further clarified to me that this was the industry I wanted to be involved in.

What kind of items do you stock?
We’re big on the fact that rental can be so much more than just occasion wear, so while we inevitably have lots of occasion wear on offer, we also have a more casual offering of corsets and tops, trousers, outerwear, and accessories including bags, sunglasses and even boots.

What new brands or items are on your radar?
I recently came across Dana Foley, a brand based in New York. They have some really unique dresses and vintage pieces and are definitely on my radar! I also love Umlaut in Paris – they were one of the first brands I reached out to when starting Drobey. They have some of the coolest dresses and corsets and all of their pieces are made from unused fabric stock from major fashion houses, so they’re extremely sustainable too.

Was money/funding a concern when starting out?
I think funding is always going to be a concern when starting out, especially when you have big ambitions for your brand. It’s safe to say that any savings that my sister and I had are long gone, and we’ve taken a business loan alongside this to get up and running. I think it’s important to ask yourself what it will take to get a Minimum Viable Product to market – then worry about acquiring the more major funding once you’ve proven that your idea works and that there’s demand for it.

Best business advice you’ve gotten
My dad always says that as a founder, the sooner you can get working ‘on’ your business, rather than ‘in’ it, the better. I think that’s great advice because while it’s inevitable that you’re going to be involved in every aspect of the business in the early stages, the real growth can only happen when you can remove yourself from the day-to-day running and operations, and can work on driving the business forward at a higher level.

Best fashion purchase
Weirdly and boringly, it’s probably a staple black, boxy blazer that I got in the men’s section of COS a couple of years ago. I think when it comes to your wardrobe, the best thing you can do is invest in what I call your ‘key pieces’ – those staple pieces you know you’ll wear time and time again and that will take you through the seasons. Leave the more fun, one-off and seasonal pieces to rental!

Best city for second-hand shopping (and rental)
Hmmm, I think it would have to be London. London holds a special place in my heart ever since living and studying there. Since I was studying retail over there, I was obsessed with exploring what the fashion industry had to offer over there – they have some great rental options like HURR and Rotaro, along with great vintage shopping in areas such as Shoreditch, Portobello and Hackney for their charity shops and vintage markets.

Other Irish brands you love
It would have to be Colin Horgan and Rachel Maguire (Rashhiiid) – they’re both listed on Drobey, which is very exciting as it’s the first time both designers have dipped their toes into rental! Colin has some of the coolest pieces. He manages to mix fitted tailoring with things like 3D pannier pockets and harness strapping and make it work. His designs have been worn by artists including Rita Ora and Dua Lipa! Then you have Rachels’ bespoke collection of faux fur hats, which are to die for. Rachel is all about people expressing themselves through her creations, and her hats have been worn by the likes of Megan Fox and Doja Cat which is pretty cool!

My relationship with fashion is… changing a lot as the years go on. I used to have a huge wardrobe, buy off ASOS all the time, and not really consider my purchases too much. Now, I have a tiny wardrobe, really invest in my staple pieces – like leggings, hoodies, blazers and boots – that I know I’ll get loads of wear out of, and I avoid buying anything that I think is too statement or I’ll wear less than 20 times. I now leave those pieces to rental!

Most useful learning since setting up a business
This probably goes back to the most useful advice I’ve gotten – to get working ‘on’ the business rather than ‘in’ it ASAP. Obviously, for the first couple of months, it was just me, so I have been heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the business and have been doing everything from operations to taking showroom appointments to meeting dry-cleaners to website development and social media. But now my sister Ella is going to be taking over the operations end of things, which will take a lot of stress off and free up some of my time to start driving the business forward!

Proudest moment so far
Probably just seeing Drobey come to life. The idea had lived in my head for so many months before launching, years even. I had spent a huge amount of time working on Drobeys’ branding, on what I wanted Drobey to be as a brand, how I wanted it to make people feel, the vision, messaging etc., so when it finally came to life and the response to it was so positive, I felt like a proud mom!

Biggest misconception about the rental sector?
I think people often have the misconception that engaging in rental means wearing something that is out of season and tired looking. Drobey only acquires brand-new stock and ensures that every time it goes out to a customer it is like new, so there’s no compromise! We’re trying to deliver sustainability and access to high-end designers without compromise.

Best tips for building a more sustainable wardrobe?
Invest in your staple wardrobe pieces – so whatever you think you’ll wear more than 20 times (which for me are things like leggings, jeans and blazers) – and then leave anything more statement or seasonal or that you think you’ll get less than 20 wears out of to rental.

I got into rental because… to me, rental just makes so much sense. I love a lot of high-end brands that are out of reach for me price-wise, so I look at rental as a great way of tapping into these brands without having to spend a fortune. Furthermore, I was feeling so much guilt seeing my ASOS parcels coming in the door or running into Zara for things I know I’ll only wear a handful of times, if even, and this guilt started to catch up on me and I knew I needed to change my buying behaviour.

I want my brand to be remembered for… contributing to a better future where people consume fashion in a different way than what we were once used to. I’d love to see people really making a change thanks to Drobeys’ influence, to see people investing in their staple wardrobe pieces and leaving the more one-off, statement pieces to rental. But it’s important to me that Drobey would be remembered for proving that rental is the way forward, rather than simply preaching it. This is why we’re going to go above and beyond to get the best brands on board and show people that there doesn’t need to be a trade-off between style and sustainability.

If I could have anyone wear something from Drobey, it would be… honestly, no one particular person comes to mind here. It’s more of a collective thing for me – the more people that wear Drobey the better, because it means mindsets are shifting and patterns are changing… so everyone I guess!? That mission carries out to rental as a whole, the more people that rent the better. So whether that be from Drobey, from Rachel Hennessy’s amazing ‘Happy Days’ store in Leopardstown, or any other rental offerings around Ireland, it’s about working toward a changed future, collectively!