Voices 2025 - Fashion Forward with Ashley McDonnell
As a business-woman, entrepreneur and fashionista, Ashley is a driving force and has carved out a career path that has allowed her creativity to flourish alongside her business savvy.
“I’ve been with Puig for almost five years, three years in Geneva and two in Paris,” Ashley explains. “It’s a company with more than 110 years of history.” Her day-to-day work involves shaping digital strategies for global brands.
“I love using both sides of my brain,” she says. “I can appreciate the beauty, design, and quality of a fashion brand, but I also ask: how is the business running? Are they active in e-commerce? What tech stack do they use?” Ashley’s ambitions extend beyond Puig. She has launched her own ventures, including a soon-to-be-announced luxury project – to build Ireland’s first luxury group by acquiring and developing premium Irish brands.
“In Ireland, there’s a big gap in luxury. My mission is to incubate brands, grow them, and give them the systems they need so creativity can shine while operations run smoothly in the background.”
The early days
Ashley’s journey began with persistence. A huge advocate of internships, she built her career by spending every summer in France gaining experience. “Most of my friends were in the U.S. on J1 visas having fun and sometimes I was jealous,” she admits.
“But I knew if I wanted to make it in the industry, I had to work 10 times harder than my French colleagues.” Her determination paid off. By 22, she landed a management role at Dior within the LVMH Group. “Momentum is everything in careers, especially in luxury fashion in France. Because I was already working within the LVMH Group, stepping into Dior was as easy as it was ever going to be,” she recalls.
From Dior, Ashley made the leap into tech with Google, a transition she calls “the biggest culture shock” of her career.
“At Dior, everything was done to the highest luxury standard. Google was the complete opposite: very startup-like, transparent, informal. It took some adjusting, but it also taught me faster, more efficient ways of working.” Those lessons later became assets when she returned to luxury later in her career.
The DCU impact
Ashley tells us about her time at DCU, the place that first set her on the fashion path.
“I picked DCU because I wanted to be a fashion designer,” she says. “I got into all the design schools, but I realised two things. One: you can’t study languages in most fashion schools. And two: if I wanted to really go big with fashion, I knew I needed to understand how to run a brand.”
Then she came across a Global Business and French course at DCU. “One of the quotes on the DCU website was from a graduate who said it was the perfect platform to then do a Master’s in fashion buying in London. I thought, this is it. I never even visited campus, I just put it as my Number One choice.”
Ashley says DCU gave her two invaluable skills: professional fluency in French and the chance to gain real-world experience through internships. “It’s ironic, because it’s a university, but DCU gave me two life skills you can’t necessarily learn in the classroom,” she explains. “By the time I was on my third internship, I already had an advantage.”
Outside of the classroom, Ashley was highly involved in extracurricular activities, including sports. An athlete, she lived in the sports house on campus, ran track and field, and threw herself into societies. “There was a really strong sense of community among athletes and footballers. I was also involved in so many clubs and societies; not just athletics, but the Raising and Giving Society, the Arts Society, Surf and Sail, Ski Club. Honestly, I did everything.”
She transferred to France after two years for her double degree but kept close ties to DCU.
“I missed it so much that I came back every year around midterm to catch up with friends. They’re still my closest friends today.”
Keeping the connection alive
That connection remains strong in her professional life. Of the seven people currently on her team, three are DCU graduates. “It’s happening organically,” she says. “The programme produces well-rounded business people with language skills, international experience and independence. I love working with people like that.”
Looking back, Ashley attributes much of her success to persistence and determination.
“Anything worth pursuing is worth putting in the work. We often assume success comes easily when we see someone achieve something, but that’s rarely true. For me, every role, every big opportunity – whether it was producing a fashion show or a major event – was 99% pushback and rejection. You just need that 1% of ‘yes’ to move forward and make it happen.”
She continues: “For every project that came to life or every role I’ve had, there were 10 that didn’t work out. I try to be transparent about that because the story behind success isn’t always glamorous. It’s about perseverance and hoping that things can work out if you keep going.”
Final thoughts
She shares simple advice for those looking to break into a similar industry. “Make a plan. Decide what you want, then work backwards. What do you need to do each day, week, month to get there? That’s exactly how I’ve approached my career. So far, it’s worked!”
