In 2019, with 20 years of experience under my belt, I started developing a circular fashion brand. At this time, I had already worked with sustainable materials for over a decade but I really wanted to also explore system changes within fashion. It was clear to me that there was no business model to follow and that I'd have to create a road map of my own. And so after much trial and error, AFORE AFTER was born.
I believe small businesses like mine that are challenging norms while innovating on shoestring budgets, can prove what is possible so that hopefully, big businesses will be forced to act under consumer pressure. In a short time and with limited resources, we've brought a multiform circular garment to market. I'm very proud of this but I'm also eager to continue exploring, innovating and creating impactful solutions.
AFORE AFTER is a credit to so many people's efforts and I’m incredibly grateful for every skilled worker in our supply chain across Europe. While our mission as a business is doing more with less, we also want to equip people with knowledge to make informed decisions to scale back, slow down and retain value in their clothing.
My hope is that, in time, we’ll be a B Corp certified business and operate on a fully closed-loop system. It’s important to me that our only impact on people and the planet is a positive one. Those are just some of my big dreams for AFORE AFTER and I hope you'll follow our mission.
Sandra Murphy is a pioneer in sustainable fashion, single-handedly developing a multiform, circular fashion garment that has zero post-consumer waste.
As an award-winning fashion and textile designer, Sandra spent 16 years working in the global fashion capital of New York City. While designing for various leading American fashion brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Gap and Hanes, she also ran her own small independent label, which received notable recognition in prestigious fashion media including Women’s Wear Daily and WGSN. Along with her continued active presence in industry, Sandra has also established herself in fashion education, fulfilling significant teaching and exam roles at Parsons, Kent State University, Dublin Institute of Design, and Limerick School of Art and Design.
Sandra’s hands-on experience working with sustainable materials began in 2005 while in New York designing for the multinational fashion company, Hanes Brands Inc. Here, Sandra was introduced to her first organic and recycled textiles, and while sustainability was then considered by many to be a passing trend, she was hooked! An avid vintage buyer since her school days, Sandra became increasingly concerned throughout her career in New York with compromises in modern design and quality, in particular fast fashion and mass production. While running her small, independent label, she worked with local manufacturers in New York’s infamous Garment District to develop a first-hand knowledge of slow and ethical fashion practices.
For over two decades, Sandra has closely observed and participated in the fashion industry’s progress and development of sustainability. She has seen the industry’s adoption of sustainability remain fragmented and ultimately fail to have the environmental and social impacts that are needed. Now based in Ireland, Sandra has turned her focus towards fashion’s future under the circular economy. Her research in overhauling the fashion industry from a linear business model to a circular one is ongoing and evolving. Launching AFORE AFTER as a circular fashion brand has become the most ambitious and exciting project of her design career.
