Ravda Clothing - Leah O’Donnell’s passion for fashion

Three years ago, Leah O’Donnell, who was then only 16, established her own women's fashion business.

The  Donegal Town native is a former student of Scoil an Linbh Íosa, Killymard and later, the Abbey Vocational School in Donegal Town, where Leah began her venture, Ravda Clothing.

“I established a fashion brand because my dad owns a business and so I had an interest in having my own business, I am interested in fashion and clothes so I decided that would be the business I would start,” she told DonegalLive. 

Leah launched the website Ravda Clothing in 2020, where her clothing range is still available and had a Christmas pop-up store in 2021. The brand is run by Leah independently, with the occasional help of her close friends for modelling.

Leah spoke about going into business at a young age and still attending school simultaneously and admits that it was difficult in the beginning but with the support of her mum and dad, Marie and Geoffrey O’Donnell, it was made possible. 

Leah’s parents have entrepreneurial experience as they run a business of their own - Donegal Wholefoods - a speciality grocery store supplying health and snack foods, situated at Drimark, Donegal Town.

“There was a lot of pressure with going into business at a young age, I had to use all of my savings to get it started,” Leah added. “My family were so supportive of me starting a business which really helped, especially my mum and dad.”

Ravda is a city in the Burgas Province, a coastal village and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, situated on the Black Sea. 

Leah used it as her business name, “my family and I used to go on holidays to Bulgaria and it is a town we would visit whenever we were on holiday there. I liked the name so I thought it would be appropriate to use it.”

Ravda Clothing offers a wide variety of affordable and trendy clothing ranging from casual wear to semi-formal outfits. Currently, the brand caters for women from early teens to late twenties. 

“The website has expanded over time and is still continuing to grow,” Leah continued. “The more people bought the more I was able to buy in a larger variety of stock.”

According to Leah, the best-sellers are dresses and jackets, especially shackets, which are a combination of a shirt and a jacket. The online shop is stocked based on the current season and what is trendy, it really depends on the occasions which are coming up and what people will be looking for. 

Ravda will be offering discounts for Black Friday and stocking up on going-out outfits and winter wear as Christmas approaches. Ravda can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as well as on the online store.