Daryl Kerrigan

Daryl Kerrigan, known professionally as Daryl K (born 2 April) is an Irish born, fashion designer based in New York City

Kerrigan was born in Dublin. Inspired by her mother's fashion sense and dressmaking abilities, Kerrigan enrolled at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. When she was 22 years old, Kerrigan moved to New York City and worked in a job sorting second-hand clothing.

Her first years in New York were spent working in film, where she worked as assistant designer and on-set wardrobe supervisor for independent features such as Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train and My Cousin Vinny starring Marisa Tomei.

She is partnered with Paul Leonard, also from Dublin; the couple has two children.

Although initially uninterested in the fashion scene, in 1991, with about $40,000 in savings, she opened her first shop in the East Village, on Sixth Street. Without any advertising or public relations, it was time for the fashion crowd to discover her.

She began to develop the Hip Hugger Bootleg Jean, which drew people like Sonic Youth front woman Kim Gordon, as well as fashion editors like Camilla Nickerson and stylists to the store and earned Daryl cult status in fashion circles. Her boot-cut hipster jeans, dubbed "low riders" were partly inspired by 70's hiphuggers she founded in the vintage warehouse. These jeans were to make her name and become the mainstay of her collections.

In 1996, she received a Perry Ellis Award, for emerging talent, from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and she has been a consultant to Tommy Hilfiger. Kerrigan later launched her second line called K-189. In 1997, Kerrigan opened a store on 21 Bond Street in William Wegman's former studio. Bond Street has since been home to housing her flagship store, studio and showroom.

Kerrigan suffered some setback after her labels ("Daryl K" and "K-189") were acquired by the Leiber Group in 2000.After a year, her stores in Los Angeles and New York closed after the Leiber Group halted production. In 2002, she bought back the rights to her labels and again single handedly re- launched the brands in October 2002. She soon was back on her feet again as her loyal customers began to return to the store, mostly by word-of -mouth. Shortly after, as the Daryl K line began to sell out in Barneys New York and other locations, Daryl and Barneys launched the Daryl K-189 /Co-Op collection together to great success.

Her vision was evident in the shows which were legendary in fashion lore: An empty swimming pool in the LES; the space now known as “Capitale” when it was a working bank; the roof of Gordon Bunshaft’s Lever House; on top of a flatbed truck, in the Gagosian Gallery on 21st Street when it was a parking garage – Joey Ramone attended this show to hear his music played.

The JumpDress was first presented on the runway for Daryl K's Spring/Summer 2012/20th Anniversary Collection, presented at Gavin Brown's Enterprise. The JumpDress is a cross between a dress and a jumpsuit, feeling like a dress but with the attitude and freedom of pants.

At the end of March 2012, Daryl decided to close the store on Bond Street, needing a change from being a retailer, an independent designer and a manufacturer in a rapidly changing world.

Daryl continues to design and sell clothing worldwide through the Daryl K website and various retailers.