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‘The Landskein has shown that a business built on kindness and integrity can thrive’
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Anna Guerin, IMAGE PwC Creative Businesswoman of the Year 2025, reflects on the spark that pushed her to finally create her own brand, the enduring pull of Donegal tweed, and why building a label on kindness has been her boldest move yet.
Luxury outerwear is one of the most challenging corners of fashion, but Anna Guerin has carved a distinctive space for The Landskein since founding it in 2019. Working with fifth-generation Donegal tweed weavers, she has built a brand rooted in heritage yet firmly contemporary, with stockists across Ireland, Italy, the UK and the US.
Operating on zero-waste principles and using only Irish-sourced materials, Anna’s vision is less about chasing trends and more about creating “forever coats” – garments designed to be worn and loved for decades.
By pairing traditional Irish craftsmanship with a pared-back, modern aesthetic, The Landskein is showing how slow fashion can be both sustainable and globally desirable.
It was an incredible honour, and honestly very humbling, to be named IMAGE PwC Creative Businesswoman of the Year 2025. The calibre of women in that room – women who have achieved so much across so many different fields – made it extraordinary to even be mentioned alongside them. To be recognised in that company, and by the judges, was a real privilege.
The Landskein is still such a young business, and I feel I have so much more to do to live up to this award. In many ways, the recognition has energised me; it feels like validation at this point in our journey, but also a kind of challenge to keep going, to push harder. It was a moment to exhale, but also to look ahead, because I truly feel we’ve only just begun.
The passion was always there. Even back in college, I knew that one day I would have to build my own brand. But I also understood the value of waiting, of learning. So I treated every role I took on as an apprenticeship, almost like a daily investment in a future that I knew was coming. Every day was a step towards The Landskein, even if it didn’t have a name yet.
The actual spark happened almost by chance. A text, a phone call, and thirty minutes later, I was signed up for a master’s programme. That programme became the framework for the business plan. It felt fated, as if the idea that had lived inside me for so long had suddenly been given form. From that moment, The Landskein stopped being a dream and became something I had no choice but to bring into reality.
For me, tweed has always carried memory. I have such a vivid picture of my mother in her salt-and-pepper tweed coat, and I remember sitting beside her at mass, tracing the little neps of colour with my eyes. I can’t explain why I felt so good in my Prince of Wales check blazer when I was only seven, but I did. There was something about the fabric’s character that resonated with me, even then.
That’s why I knew I had to work with Irish weavers. Of course, I could source cloth abroad at a fraction of the cost, but it would lose that intangible value – the authenticity, the memory, the character that can’t be replicated. Working with fifth-generation weavers means our fabrics are more than just material; they carry stories, continuity, and culture. That’s what gives The Landskein its quiet strength, and I think our clients feel it when they wear the pieces.
There have been incredible “pinch me” moments – seeing a coat in the Brown Thomas window, being featured in the Financial Times, or receiving an order from San Carlo 1973 in Italy. But if I’m honest, the moment that has stayed with me most was a very personal one. I asked my son recently if he thought I was happy, and he rolled his eyes and said, “Mum, you’re so, so happy.” That, to me, is the greatest success of this journey. The Landskein has brought me enormous joy and satisfaction because it feels like the truest expression of myself, something I waited patiently to create, and now love in every aspect. Knowing that it not only fulfils me, but also benefits the people around me, feels like the most meaningful milestone of all.
A truly sustainable garment has to be timeless, useful, and desirable enough to be worn for decades.
The Landskein is both self-financed and built on zero-waste principles, which means constraint is part of the DNA. But I’ve always found that parameters drive creativity. With limited resources and fabrics, every decision matters, and that’s when design gets exciting. Sustainability isn’t just about mills or production processes, either – it’s about the product itself. A truly sustainable garment has to be timeless, useful, and desirable enough to be worn for decades.
For me, it’s literally the interweaving of heritage and modernity. We work with Irish mills and keep all weaving in Ireland, but we also introduce superfine merino yarns from Italy to innovate the cloth itself. We push our mills to create tweeds that feel fresh, while keeping them rooted in Ireland. From a design perspective, everything is modern – the cuts, the shapes, the presentation. We are not held back by heritage; instead, we use it as a springboard into the present.
I do believe creativity has to come out of us – it’s instinctive, not optional. But design in the real world has to work within parameters. Margins matter. Boutiques need to make theirs, and customers need garments that are attainable as well as desirable. The job of a designer is to solve problems, not just to indulge in pure expression. In a way, it’s the parameters that make design exciting. Without them, it would just be art. It’s the brief, the obstacles, the looking around corners that make fashion design a practice I love.
Customers are far more discerning now. They want fewer things, but better things. They’re asking how a coat will perform in their lives – will it protect them, will it last, will it make them feel proud of their decision? Nothing is fleeting anymore. What excites me is that this isn’t limited to high-end consumers. People at every level are approaching purchases with the same discernment. In a way, they’re buying not just a coat, but a piece of heritage.
Honestly, I see every part of the business as creative. Designing collections, yes, but also deciding on photography, pursuing editorial, even choosing how to approach a retailer – it’s all part of the creative process. My creativity is constantly alive; the challenge is more about channelling it. I try not to over-indulge in social media, because I’m better informed by the real world – by travelling to European cities, people-watching in New York, by film, by food, by conversations.
Looking ahead, I want to grow internationally, but with intention. It matters to me that our retailers share our values and understand the product. At the same time, I want to build my team – to bring in the support that would free me from the endless paperwork and allow me to focus on design and strategy. Every season, I’m left with the sense that we haven’t even scratched the surface of demand, simply because we lack the manpower or time to serve more accounts. But I never want to lose the closeness to clients in our showroom; their feedback is pure gold and shapes everything we do.
When I first built the business plan, I rooted it in kindness – kindness to people, to the planet, to the makers and the wearers. After 15 years in fashion, I wanted to do things differently, and I wasn’t sure it would work. Producing in Ireland and Europe is expensive. Every component is fairly made, and the price reflects that. There’s no hidden human cost.
What has surprised me, and delighted me, is that many people value this. Even though many doubted it was possible, The Landskein has shown that a business built on kindness and integrity can thrive. That has been my greatest “pinch me” moment: realising that what once felt idealistic is in fact the right way forward, and that there is a community of discerning customers who were waiting for exactly this.
We’re interviewing each of our outstanding winners from this year’s IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2025. To hear more about their career journeys, expert insights, and more, visit image.ie/pwc.
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