{"id":309031,"date":"2026-02-21T02:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T02:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/309031\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T02:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T02:14:10","slug":"joanne-mcnally-and-nikki-lannen-unpack-the-emotional-baggage-behind-anxious-preoccupied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/309031\/","title":{"rendered":"Joanne McNally and Nikki Lannen unpack the emotional baggage behind Anxious Preoccupied"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is something reassuring about seeing the language of your inner life reflected back at you. In recent years, Irish women have shown a growing appetite for brands that feel honest, self-aware and grounded in everyday life. Few names capture that mood quite as succinctly as Anxious Preoccupied.<\/p>\n

The accessories brand was co-founded by long-time friends Nikki Lannen and Joanne McNally, whose shared humour and complementary skill sets have shaped the business from the outset.<\/p>\n

Having been friends for nearly 15 years, the idea of working together did not come from a boardroom but from a casual conversation a few years prior. At the time, there was no formal plan, just a shared feeling that it was the right moment to explore the idea.<\/p>\n

\"JoanneJoanne McNally and Nikki Lannen, the creative duo behind bold accessories brand Anxious Preoccupied, pictured at Brown Thomas Dundrum. Picture: Anthony Woods<\/p>\n

The name itself, Lannen explains, came from McNally, inspired by the language of attachment theory. While the term \u2018anxious preoccupied\u2019 describes a specific relationship style, its appeal appears to be far broader.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of customers do not even realise it is an attachment style,\u201d Lannen notes. \u201cEspecially some of the more mature women. But the words themselves say enough. People feel anxious. People feel preoccupied. That is everyday life now, and there is something comforting about seeing that acknowledged.\u201d<\/p>\n

That instinctive recognition is central to the brand\u2019s success. From the beginning, Lannen and McNally were determined that Anxious Preoccupied would not take itself too earnestly. The humour is present but measured, perceptive and distinctly Irish in tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always said this should be fun,\u201d Lannen recounts. \u201cThere are so many brands that take themselves very seriously. We wanted to stand out by being colourful, bright and a bit playful. Joanne obviously brings a lot of comedic instinct to it, but it is quite observational humour. It feels very Irish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visually, that attitude translated into a confident use of colour and texture. At a time when minimalist palettes dominated fashion and social media, Anxious Preoccupied leaned into colour and metallic finishes.<\/p>\n

\"LilacLilac Metallic Bag, \u20ac120, Anxious Preoccupied<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we launched, everything felt very beige,\u201d Lannen recalls. \u201cWe were pushing colour when not everyone was doing that. Some people really responded to it. Now colour is coming back more broadly, but we had already committed to it. We wanted the brand to bring a bit of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, the partnership works because of clear boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur roles are very different,\u201d Lannen details. \u201cThat is why it works. There is a lot of trust there because we have known each other for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lannen oversees the operational and strategic side of the business, while McNally leads on creative direction, from product design to marketing and brand voice, and being the public face of the brand.<\/p>\n

Transforming the concept into a finished product was a lengthy process. Although the company was officially incorporated in August 2023, Lannen outlines that there was more than a year of development before that point.<\/p>\n

\n There is so much work people do not see\n <\/p>\n

\u201cTesting products, sourcing suppliers, getting samples made. We tried different things at the start, like prints and tracksuits, but bags were always the direction we felt strongest about.\u201d<\/p>\n

That focus was underpinned by personal experience. Lannen grew up around the leather trade and later completed a postgraduate qualification in business while working in tech. Those threads eventually came together in a way that felt intuitive.<\/p>\n

Designing the bags has been guided by practicality as much as aesthetics. Lannen describes regular conversations with friends and customers, asking what they actually need from an everyday bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think about what would actually make life easier,\u201d she says. \u201cSo many bags look great but are not practical. We wanted to think about size, weight, straps and details, while still making something that looks good.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the brand has grown, small but meaningful adjustments have been made, including improved handles, added fastenings and straps that increase versatility. For Lannen, these refinements are about listening and responding rather than chasing trends. That attention to quality has helped secure retail partnerships with Brown Thomas and Arnotts, a milestone she describes as transformative.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Barrel in silver by Anxious Preoccupied, \u20ac125, now available at Brown Thomas Dundrum and Arnotts<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the bags in store has been huge for us,\u201d Lannen says. \u201cPeople can feel the quality and understand the sizing. What has been interesting is that it has also driven online sales, because once people know what they are buying, they feel confident ordering again.\u201d Maintaining accessible price points has remained a priority, despite the challenges that come with scaling production.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted good quality at a reasonable price,\u201d Lannen says. \u201cAs customers ourselves, we know how hard it is to find that balance. We feel like we are filling a gap.\u201d While Anxious Preoccupied is firmly rooted in Ireland, its reach is already international, with a significant portion of online customers based in the UK and further afield, an expansion that feels organic rather than forced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are Irish through and through,\u201d Lannen says. \u201cBut the feelings behind the brand are universal.\u201d As Anxious Preoccupied continues to grow, the focus is on protecting its tone and integrity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think a lot about not losing what makes us us,\u201d she reflects. \u201cFor us, that means quality, consistency and not taking ourselves too seriously.\u201d Ultimately, Lannen hopes that buying an Anxious Preoccupied bag offers something beyond function. \u201cWe want it to feel fun,\u201d she says. \u201cA little lift in your day. Something that reflects real life, but with colour and humour.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a world where many people feel stretched thin, that sense of recognition may be exactly why the name continues to resonate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is something reassuring about seeing the language of your inner life reflected back at you. In recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80,31267],"class_list":["post-309031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology","tag-trend-of-the-week-skin-nerd-beauty-product-watch-mens-fashion-annmarie-o"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}