Marie Sullivan and her daughter Arwen used to bond over fashion.
“A huge part of our relationship together had been going shopping, dressing her up when she was younger and watching her develop her own style as she got older,” Marie recalls.
So when she decided to do something to honour the memory of her daughter, who died by suicide in 2020, Marie knew it “had to have something to do with fashion”, she says.
Marie set up clothing re-sale website ShareJoy in 2021 and since then it has raised more than €70,000 for suicide prevention charity Pieta House. This week she will take part in the Dublin Independent Fashion Week (DIFW) in a bid both to raise awareness about mental health and to raise funds for Pieta House.
“In the aftermath of losing Arwen, one of the main sources of comfort for us was Pieta’s post-suicide bereavement counselling,” she says. “We have to make sure that this service continues to be provided for other families.”
Arwen was “a sparkly person”, her mother recalls. At 23, she was working as a physiotherapist and a yoga instructor. “She was beautiful and funny and clever.”
Arwen Sullivan
Marie says that when Arwen died, the “devastation was enhanced by the situation at the time”, the Covid-19 pandemic. “We could only have 10 people at the funeral, we couldn’t have neighbours or friends in to give us a hug or anything.”
After six months, Marie was “driven by the need to do something to honour” her daughter.
Arwen was “always serving looks”, she says. “She’d go into college, she went to RCSI, she’d have her high boots, sparkly dresses”.
Arwen was also passionate about sustainable fashion, and was a big fan of buying second-hand clothes through the resale app Depop.
Marie got talking to a friend who put her in contact with journalist Anne-Marie Tomchak, who has worked with British Vogue, RTÉ and the BBC. Tomchak came up with the idea of having 20 famous Irish women donate items from their wardrobe to be sold on Depop, to raise money for Pieta House. People could shop the wardrobes of singer Una Healy, presenter and stylist Celia Holman Lee and media personality Laura Whitmore, among others.
Since then, a ShareJoy website has been launched where people can continue to buy from the wardrobes of Irish stars. A number of Irish designers have donated pieces too, including Caroline Duffy, Colin Horgan and Cobblers Lane.
The collection has expanded to men’s wear too. “We actually still have a shirt from Bressie [for sale], a lovely Vivienne Westwood”, Marie says. “Ryan Tubridy gave me a Hugo Boss jacket and a lovely Late Late show jumper to sell.”
Marie says the initiative has allowed her to keep her relationship with Arwen alive. “I had read a thing about grief, it said that when you lose somebody you love you have to recreate that relationship with them”, she says. “This is my new relationship with Arwen.”
“It’s been incredibly important in my healing, and my ability to carry on without her,” she says.
[ The shocking waste in the clothes we wearOpens in new window ]
In collaboration with Ailís Crowley of Fash Forward, which works with people and businesses to embrace sustainability through workshops, training and consultancy, Marie will host a denim-mending workshop at DIFW. Mending experts will be on hand to teach people how to repair any wears and tears in their clothing. There will also be a preloved clothing rail at the workshop, with all proceeds going to Pieta House.
“We have so much in common”, says Marie of Crowley. Fash Forward was created to honour Crowley’s late father. The pair hope to create a positive impact at DIFW through their promotion of both mental health and the environment.
The Mindful Mending: Denim-Repair Workshop and Pre-Loved Clothing Rail will take place as part of DIFW in the Arthaus Hotel, Dublin, on Friday between 2.30 and 4.30pm. All proceeds from clothing sales will go to Pieta House.
If you are affected by any issue in this article, please contact Pieta House at 1800 247 247 or text ‘HELP’ to 51444 (standard text msg rates apply), or contact the Samaritans by telephoning 116123 or by e-mailing jo@samaritans.ie