Enable Ireland and Portobello Institute’s Business of Fashion faculty are collaborating on a student-led retail styling event taking place across five Dublin city centre shops this April.
Combining fashion education, sustainable style, and community impact in a live retail environment, ‘Style for Good – Enable Ireland x Portobello Institute’ connects students from the Fashion Management and Fashion Buying and Merchandising programmes with Enable Ireland’s retail teams to create dynamic styling spaces and offer customers a fresh perspective on pre-loved fashion.
Anne Marie McAuley, Programme Lead for Fashion at Portobello Institute, is committed to creating opportunities like this for students to gain hands-on experience and prepare them to launch their careers.
“This collaboration represents exactly the kind of industry-led learning we believe in at Portobello Institute.
“It gives our students the opportunity to apply their skills in a real retail environment, working with an established organisation like Enable Ireland, while also understanding the growing importance of sustainable fashion and community impact.
“We are focused on our courses launching careers and it is experiences like this that build CVs and prepare our graduates to step directly into the working world,” she said.
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The initiative connects education and industry in a way that benefits both students and the wider community, highlighting the value of practical experience while supporting a national charity through creative retail engagement.
Oonagh O’Connor, Head of Commercial at Enable Ireland, welcomes the fresh perspective this opportunity to collaborate with students brings to the stores while shining a spotlight on pre-loved fashion.
“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Portobello. We’re so excited to see what the students bring to our Enable Ireland shops, both visually and from a business perspective. It’s a great opportunity, so we’re really looking forward to seeing the impact of this initiative,” she said.
The event will take place across Enable Ireland shops on Georges Street, Capel Street, Thomas Street, Lower Camden Street and Phibsborough in Dublin on Wednesday, April 29th.
Shoppers on the day will benefit from impactful window displays set up by visual merchandising students and in-store styling experiences using curated pre-loved pieces available in-store.
Enable Ireland’s retail network plays a vital role in funding services for children and adults with disabilities. 100% of profits from their shops support vital disability services. For children and their families, they cover all aspects of a child’s physical, educational, and social development from early infancy through adolescence. For adults, they offer a range of services which include day services, training, personal development, supported and independent living, and social and leisure activities..
The organisation has evolved into a modern retail operation with a strong focus on merchandising, customer experience, and quality.
Each store will feature student-designed window installations, developed by visual merchandising students, alongside live styling sessions led by fashion management students. Shoppers can receive personalised styling advice, explore curated outfit combinations, and engage directly with students throughout the day.
Tyran Lovett, Digital Marketing Executive at Enable Ireland, is looking forward to capturing how the customers engage with the event.
“I’m just so excited to see what these students come up with, to see their fresh ideas and the styling offering that they’re going to provide for customers,” he said.
From an educational perspective for Portobello’s fashion students, the project offers the opportunity to apply their learning in a live retail setting.
Kaya Cinar is a Fashion Management student who is excited to put his skills and talent to the test in this real-world environment.
“I think I’m most excited for meeting the customers and seeing how it is in that retail experience and expanding my knowledge on retail and charity retail in general and being able to style people,” he said.
For Visual Merchandising student Sarah Zanchetta, working on real store windows is a key highlight.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to develop a real store window for customers and see how it draws people in,” she said.
The collaboration has been developed as part of a structured learning experience, combining planning, creativity, and real-world execution.
Fashion Lecturer, Sinead Kelly, emphasises how Portobello Institute’s degrees focus on hands-on, real-world experience while helping students build professional network.
“We are so excited to partner with Enable Ireland. It’s really about bringing the students’ commercial and academic knowledge to life and bringing it into an in-store experience with real-life customers,” she said.
Through this collaboration, Portobello Institute and Enable Ireland demonstrate the power of education and industry working together, giving students valuable real-world experience while offering Enable Ireland the opportunity to collaborate with emerging talent and future industry professionals.
Visit participating Enable Ireland shops across Dublin city centre on April 29th for a vibrant in-store experience featuring styling sessions, curated looks, and a strong focus on sustainable fashion.
Follow along on our social media channels Enable Ireland, Fashion Portobello and Portobello Institute.
Event Details
Event: Style for Good - Enable Ireland x Portobello Institute
Date: 29 April 2026
Locations: Enable Ireland Stores – Georges St, Capel St, Thomas St, Lower Camden St, Phibsborough.
If you're interested in studying business of fashion at Portobello Institute visit our faculty here. If you have any questions about our fashion courses you can contact our career path advisor Sarah Coyne here.