Garvey has designed clothes for Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bambie Thug. And she’s become the go-to for those who want to dress individually and know they’ll be assisted on their journey with the designer.
She showed the Irish Independent around her shop and talked about a young customer who didn’t want their parents knowing they’d bought a dress.
“It doesn’t matter what you wear,” Garvey said. “You’re not doing harm to anyone else, you’re living your life and being true to yourself. You should never try to change what anybody wants to wear, unless they come to you as a stylist for advice.”
Garvey, who has run her clothes shop in Temple Bar, Dublin, since 2017, boasts an array of customers, including those from the trans community, gay community, drag queens and couples about to walk down the aisle.
The designer is passionate about inclusivity, saying: “Everybody has the right to wear whatever they like and be whoever they like.”
When it comes to her customers, Garvey added: “It’s not about me pushing something onto them, it’s about me finding out who they are and the essence of them.
“It’s about making them the best version of themselves. Everybody is welcome here.”
Bambie Thug and Claire Garvey in her Temple Bar shop
Garvey wishes for a society where nobody feels afraid to dress the way they want.
“Society needs to accept people and we’re getting there,” she said.
The designer spoke about the first time she met Ireland’s 2024 Eurovision entrant, Bambie Thug, whose petite figure and polite, accommodating manner contrasted with their enigmatic on-stage personality.
“I first met Bambie Thug through designing pieces for a shoot they were doing,” she said.
“They also asked me if they could purchase a few pieces for the Eurovision week and I was delighted to do this.
“During the Eurovision semi-final, they wore one of my Celtic ornate neck pieces.
“It was such a surprise, it was the icing on the cake for me.”
Garvey said she received negative comments while working with Bambie Thug.
“I will never judge anyone I work with, I will meet them first and make my own decision about them,” she said.
“Some people said that I shouldn’t be working with them and that it was bad for my career. I thought this negative reaction from some people was quite upsetting.”
Garvey said the singer is an “amazing talent” and that Ireland had made a choice to send them to the Eurovision.
“It was surprising how some people turned on them,” she said. “They’re really hard working, lovely and they have an excellent persona on stage.”
Another one of her famous customers is Nile Rodgers of Chic.
“My friend Kassandra O’Connell sent a photo of my work to the members of Chic on social media in 2013 and they loved it.
“Nile Rodgers really liked the pieces and he asked if I’d design his outfit for The X Factor.
“He loved the outfit I created for him and the bright colours I used.
“I followed my gut and I designed something for him that was completely original and unique.”
Garvey has designed a number of pieces for the American, including an outfit for the Oscars.
“I hadn’t told him that the outfit I created glowed in the dark,” she said. “I like to believe that when he was deciding what to wear to the Oscars that my design was glowing in the cupboard and that’s why he picked it on the night.”
With an aspiration to design costumes for full-length films, she’s inspired by figures such as Vivienne Westwood, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton.
Garvey listens to different musicians while creating her pieces, such as The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
She won this year’s style icon award at the Hi Style Passoa Hair and Beauty Awards, and she’s a judge on RTÉ’s Junk Kouture.
For now though, as Rodgers told her when praising the piece she designed for his appearance on The X Factor in 2013, she’ll be busy and will “keep doing the Claire thing”.