Behind the Lens: Daniel Byrne on Fashion, Film and Finding His Place in New York

For Irish filmmaker Daniel Byrne, fashion has never simply been about clothes. Whilst currently being based in New York and working within one of the world’s busiest fashion and film industries, the young Dublin creative is carving out a space for himself behind the lens, balancing luxury editorial shoots and cinematic storytelling, while holding onto the distinctly Irish perspective that shaped him. From working on films for the CFDA Awards remotely from Dublin to now managing studio operations at Vela Rentals + Studio in Brooklyn, Daniel’s journey into fashion cinematography has been exciting and inspiring. Yet, speaking to Fiche, he explains how, beneath the glamour, it has always been about artistry.

Like many Irish students, Daniel initially arrived on a J1 visa for the summer, working in hospitality while exploring NYC. Fortunately, he’s found himself back in New York for a second stint, this time to discover the creative opportunities the city has to offer.“I just love New York,” he says simply. “New York is such a beautiful place.”

Whilst spending a bit of time living and working in the city, he finds himself immersed in an industry operating at a scale that is vastly different to Dublin. Through his work with Vela Rentals + Studio in Brooklyn, he has become part of the machinery behind major fashion and editorial productions, supporting shoots for internationally recognised brands and publications while steadily building his own career as a cinematographer.

“I’ve been completely exposed to the fashion world over here, and the very top of it,” he says. “I feel like I’ve just been launched right in.”

At Vela, no two days look the same. One moment, Daniel may be managing equipment logistics for a small business, the next, supporting a high-profile editorial or luxury campaign. Through the studio, he has worked on projects connected to names such as Interview Magazine, ELLE Taiwan, and pre–Met Gala productions, including a shoot involving actor Hudson Williams and Bvlgari.

Yet, despite the glamour attached to many of these projects, Daniel is careful not to romanticise the industry. What surprised him most about New York fashion was not necessarily its luxury, but its sheer scale. “The biggest difference I noticed,” he says, “was that fashion here isn’t just established - it’s expansive. It’s like a thousand times bigger, wealthier and busier.”

Growing up around Dublin’s comparatively intimate creative scene, stepping into New York felt overwhelming at first. “You’re suddenly meeting photographers, cinematographers and designers who’ve been doing this for decades,” he says. “That really shocked me. I was so taken aback by the size of it.” 

Still, beneath the fast pace and luxury branding, Daniel insists the heart of fashion remains surprisingly simple. “At the end of the day, it’s artistry,” he says. “Even people who are hugely successful, whether it’s Marc Jacobs or Michael Kors, they started as artists. That’s really reassuring. You’re just constantly reminded that it is all art at the end of the day.”

That idea of artistry sits at the centre of Daniel’s own approach to cinematography. For him, fashion filmmaking is not simply about capturing beautiful clothes, but translating someone else’s creative vision into motion. “What I love most about shooting fashion is that I get to create art from someone else’s art,” he says. “That, to me, is just so beautiful.” It is a phrase he returns to often throughout our conversation, the idea that fashion cinematography exists somewhere between collaboration and interpretation. “A designer creates something beautiful, and then I get to bring that to the screen,” he explains. “It feels like this collaboration between different forms of creativity.”

We speak more about art and using art as inspiration. And it brings up Daniel’s artistic journey before he discovered his love for cinematography. “I actually started out as a painter,” he says. “My mom is an artist, so I was always surrounded by creativity.” He continues on, “I’ve always loved visual art in every form”. “It just evolved from a page to a camera.”

Fashion then offered something uniquely exciting for him; the opportunity to merge multiple creative worlds at once. “Being able to mix mediums; fashion, movement, storytelling, performance - that’s what inspires me,” he says. “And working with people, collaborating with models, creatives and designers, helping bring their vision to life, that’s the exciting part.”

In many ways, Daniel’s relationship with New York fashion began long before he ever moved there. While studying in Dublin, he found himself cold-emailing creatives abroad during a college work placement search, hoping someone might respond. “I emailed so many people,” he laughs. “I just thought, why not take a chance?” One person did reply: veteran New York fashion producer Nian Fish. Fish, whose decades-long career spans runway productions and iconic campaigns, would become one of Daniel’s earliest mentors within the fashion industry. “She’s basically my fashion mom,” he says warmly. “Like The Devil Wears Prada, but in a really good way.”

Through Nian, Daniel worked remotely on films screened at the prestigious CFDA Awards while still in Ireland, contributing to projects celebrating figures such as A$AP Rocky and Donatella Versace.“I got to be in Zoom calls with huge teams, doing fashion research, editing and asset management,” he says. “It completely expanded my knowledge of fashion.” The experience offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of one of the industry’s most influential institutions, but perhaps more importantly, it deepened Daniel’s appreciation for fashion as culture rather than simply commerce.

Still, despite New York’s endless scale and spectacle, Daniel often finds himself reflecting on what Ireland does differently. “There’s something really special about Irish storytelling,” he says. “That’s one of the biggest differences I noticed when I moved here.” Where New York can sometimes feel driven by scale and speed, he sees Ireland as operating from a more emotional, narrative place. “In Ireland, there’s a real focus on untold stories,” he says. “There’s a culture of storytelling that shapes everything creatively.”

That perspective, he believes, extends naturally into Irish fashion. “You can really see it in Irish designers,” he says. “Everyone has their own point of view, and they’re telling their own story.” He mentions designers such as Aisling Duffy and Mar Knitwear, how they work alongside one another in the DIFW team, but are so different artistically.

It is why Daniel speaks enthusiastically about the future of fashion at home, particularly the momentum building around Dublin Independent Fashion Week and Ireland Fashion Week. “Why can’t Dublin do it?” he asks. “Obviously, Dublin is never going to be New York, and it shouldn’t be, but there’s so much talent.” Even personally, he looks forward to returning to Dublin after his New York journey. “I mean still, there's so much work in Dublin that I'm even excited to consider. Lots of opportunities in Dublin to go back to. And I'm so excited to return to Dublin, there’s just so much happening in the Irish fashion industry right now”. 

Rather than chasing another city’s identity, Daniel believes Ireland’s strength lies in its individuality. “You have designers doing completely different things, and they all bring something unique,” he says. “That diversity is what makes it exciting.”

While fashion remains his current focus, Daniel’s ambitions stretch beyond editorial campaigns and luxury productions. Narrative filmmaking still pulls strongly at him, a reminder of the storytelling instincts he brought with him from Ireland. “I still love cinema,” he says. “I’d love one day to be the Director of Photography on a major feature film.”

For now, though, he is content learning, observing the people around him and embracing the unpredictability of creative life in New York. “One day, I could be working on an editorial shoot,” he says. “Next, I’m just doing groceries. You really never know.” He laughs. “But that’s the exciting part.”

For Daniel, New York may have widened the scale of what feels possible, but it has not replaced the perspective he arrived with. If anything, distance has only sharpened his appreciation for home and for Ireland’s instinct toward storytelling, collaboration and creative experimentation.