Wait, Did RASHHIIID Just Shoot a Campaign on the Luas?

Rachel Maguire has been busy lately. The Irish designer behind the the iconic RASHHIIID fur hats has recently set her creative talent onto designing bags, and we’re here for it. Her latest product, the Bitch, I’m a Cow briefcase, was inspired by a fabric she sourced in Istanbul and longtime fan of her work: Doja Cat. RASHHIIID shot this campaign impulsively on the Red Line Luas on the way to the 3Arena for the Doja Cat concert, and it paid off. We spoke to her about it

Q: What inspired the bag and the “Bitch I’m a Cow” concept?
The cow fur was something that I sourced in Istanbul recently, and I instantly thought of Doja. The design was kind of based on wanting a really nerdy vintage briefcase, but making it cool and swaggy and modern. So cow faux fur is a perfect way to do that, and the zipper is kind of going through it, just adding a design detail. They’re functional zippers with my brand logo on them.

“The design was kind of based on wanting a really nerdy vintage briefcase, but making it cool and swaggy and modern.”

I kind of instantly thought of the Doja Cat song title once seeing the material. So I knew it was going to be called the Bitch I’m a Cow blazer. And then I kind of didn’t time this, but I then knew that I was going to be going to Doja Cat. So I was like, I want to launch it around the time that I was going to go to the concert. So I was like, okay, let me just wear the outfit to the concert. On like a personal note, I wanted to dress like a cow, but make it chic. So I made the whole blazer, the hat, the shoes, and it was just a whole bitch I’m a cow outfit.

“On like a personal note, I wanted to dress like a cow, but make it chic.”

Q: How did you approach the campaign and shoot?
We had had an extremely busy day. I wanted to time the launch around the Doja Cat concert. The time between you get a sample approved and bulk production ready can be quite some time. I really sped up the process so that I could launch the product off of knowing I was going to go view Doja and wanting to wear it to see her.

I knew I wanted professional photos when I was in the outfit. I nearly cancelled the shoots, actually moved the location to the 3Arena because I had zero time. So I jumped on the Luas. There was one just waiting there. I got into the Luas. I peeked out with my briefcase. They flashed me there. Then I sat at the Luas stop right in front of the 3Arena before I had to run in and do interviews. The guards came over, telling me to get off the tracks. I was like, would you arrest me for a photo?

“The guards came over, telling me to get off the tracks. I was like, would you arrest me for a photo?”

We just basically had fun with the Luas line, jumping on the Luas, going into a lift nearby, and just all around the 3Arena. It was kind of cool to do it around the setting of where she was performing. The outfit is very much inspired by her, and it was just cool to do it in a kind of Dublin city setting. My shoots are always very last minute and impromptu. If you have the right outfits, the right models, the right photographers, you can kind of make any location pop.

“If you have the right outfits, the right models, the right photographers, you can kind of make any location pop.”

Q: Shooting on the luas must have been pretty hectic?

You can’t give a fuck with these kind of photo shoots. There were guards around, thousands of people queuing into Doja Cat and then there was me in the middle of the Lewis line, there was photographers, people shouting at me, people taking photos, people laughing at me. I think a few years ago I would have been mortified and anxious and shy and said: “guys, we can’t do it here.”

“You can’t give a fuck with these kind of photo shoots.”

But now I think I’m a bit numb to kind of caring about my surroundings. So you get used to that with time, putting yourself in bold outfits and silly situations for just getting the right photo. Now I power through. Like even the photographers might stop and in certain situations with the police and with the Lewis coming and beeping and uh, but I’ll just be like, guys, quickly, like photos, photos, photos, and then we’ll get the right photos in amongst the chaos. So you definitely have to immerse yourself in crazy situations to get photos sometimes.

“There were guards around, thousands of people queing into Doja Cat and then there was me in the middle of the Lewis line, there was photographers, people shouting at me, people taking photos, people laughing at me.”

Q: What was it like meeting Doja Cat?
She wasn’t doing meet and greets, so I was the only one out of, I don’t know, 13 or 14,000 capacity of the 3Arena to meet with her, which felt really amazing. I was expecting there to be a queue of people, and I was the only one. The head of security was like, are you RASHHIIID? And I was like, yes. And they were like, yeah, we’ve been expecting you.

They brought me straight to the green room. She had just taken off her outfit and put on a dressing gown, and they said she didn’t want to get in the shower yet because she wanted to meet me. And then when I got to her, she was just chilling, like vaping in her green room in her dressing gown. I just couldn’t believe how I was treated. They knew my name. They were expecting me.

“When I got to her, she was just chilling, like vaping in her green room in her dressing gown. I just couldn’t believe how I was treated. They knew my name. They were expecting me.”

I definitely got a bit emotional letting her know how it transformed my life, personally, my self-esteem, my professional life, how future celebrities treated me better, how future influencers treated me better and treated us as a collaborator. She held my hand and said, I support you because you’re talented and not for any other reason, and she said I’ll always support you.

“I definitely got a bit emotional letting her know how it transformed my life, personally, my self-esteem, my professional life, how future celebrities [I worked with] treated me better.”

I didn’t ask for a photo. I wanted to be respectful of her space and not violate that. She was like, let’s take a selfie. I was like, yeah, for sure. I wanted to just play it cool and not try to suck everything you can out of a celebrity. I’m really interested in building a long-term relationship.

“I didn’t ask for a photo. I wanted to be respectful of her space and not violate that. She was like, let’s take a selfie. I was like, yeah, for sure.”

I spoke to my mother about it. I got her advice. She’s so good with people and she’s so good with understanding the psychology of humans. She was like: “Rachel, she invited you back because she sees you as a peer. You guys had a personal interaction. You’ve had many personal interactions. She’s bought your stuff, worn your stuff, endorsed your stuff publicly. So I just said how she changed my life. I got a bit emotional, but I didn’t tell her how nice her booty looked on stage and how it was actually one of the most inspiring shows. And I, I actually regretted after not being almost more of a fan of, you know, telling her all of the amazing things I think about her. But instead I just kept it short and sweet.

I think everyone would have just told her how incredible she was, but I held that in. I wanted to come as a peer. I just said how she changed my life. I got a bit emotional, but kept it short and sweet. I made sure I didn’t overstay my welcome. I was there maybe 10 to 15 minutes just chatting, and then I left. She said next time she’s here, I should take her for a Guinness.

“She said next time she’s here, I should take her for a Guinness.”