Lance Avery Morgan
From the combined special edition of Fun In Fundraising and Success With Style podcasts, join hosts Rob Giardinelli and Lance Avery Morgan for a fun, lively, and inspiring chat with Dallasite-turned New York designer Lela Rose. Not only is she the insider fashionista’s fan favorite, but also she has out the gorgeous new entertaining book, Fresh Air Affairs, from Rizzoli USA.
Principal photography by Tara Sgroi
Rob Giardinelli: We are so excited you are in town. You’re actually in Austin, for a very special purpose, you are receiving a Texas Medal of Arts Award by the Texas Cultural Trust, which is a big deal. Congratulations.
LR: Thank you all so much for having me on. I’m quite excited to be here and I have to say I’m so honored to be getting that award–just thrilled. I don’t normally get such a distinguished award.
LAM: I think you deserve to get this distinguished award for your passion of design. You’ve done so many great things in your career. I mean, from fashion design to you are now an author again, with the release your second book, Fresh Air Flowers.
LR: I do have a lot of stuff going on. And I like it that way. I love a little chaos.
LAM: The hardest working woman in fashion is what I’ll call you. That’s for sure. Can you please tell us how it all began? What inspired you to go down the fashion path to create your own fashion line? Your mom, Deedee Rose is stylish, I think she’s super lovely person. So, I’m sure it’s part genetic and part of hard work. But we’d love to learn more about your story.
LR: I grew up with an unbelievable mother and an unbelievable father–both very creative, but in totally different ways. And I just think they exposed me to so much and so many things in the arts. I just grew up a very creative child, I’d love to tell people that I was probably the least academic person that you’ve likely had on the show. I graduated, but third in my class from high school…third from the bottom. Oh, that was my dad’s favorite cocktail party story. I didn’t really have academic choices to go into different fields since I was just much more creative and entrepreneurial.
RG: That’s awesome. No matter what you know, what your skill set is, you really have to find something that really speaks to you and allows you to thrive and soar. Tell us a little bit about how you got into your path of success and creativity since you initially got started in the creative field of your first fashion line and from then on.
LR: I was truly always kind of creating businesses when I was younger starting with the typical lemonade stand. I was I was always trying to figure out how to make something that people would like and so I started, and I did these very small businesses doing kind of one-of-a-kind painted T shirts in high school. Then, when I went off to college, I learned how to sew. My mother says it was probably the worst experience, worse than childbirth, for her to teach me how to sew.
I was in college making these one-of-a kind it–and sounds just so hideously terrible now–but I like to think it was chic back, then but not so sure it really was, but I was making these one-of-a-kind vests from scarves from the 40s or 50s that I would collect from vintage stores. I cut them up and pieced them together. My dad and I would sit in the garage, and we would drill holes into Monopoly game pieces and those were my buttons. I sold I sold these vests to stores like I went to school in Boulder, Colorado. We had a store there that put them you know all in the window. Then, we sold to Fred Segal in L.A. I also sold her like a little store in Dallas. I think I probably had six or seven stores that were carrying these and I though, okay, I’m going to go into fashion, I was a sculpture and painting major in college, but decided that I loved working in fabrics. And I just loved creating pieces. I graduated from The University of Colorado and then moved to New York and went to Parsons for fashion design. I worked, worked, and worked and then decided I was going to be an entrepreneur again and started my company in 1998.
RG: Congratulations, it’s your 25th anniversary this year and it all started with vests. I love that you were sustainable before sustainable was sustainable.
LR: Well, you know, I’m pretty careful with that term sustainable, because it’s very hard to be truly sustainable fashion when you’re constantly coming out with new products, but we do a lot of upcycled pieces, and that’s fun. We always kind of try to keep things interesting by doing something new.
LAM: Anyone who has seen anyone wear your dresses, or gowns, or even your little white dress. I love that you’ve given the black dress a new life of its own as a little white dress. All your clothes are exquisite. They’re happy, fresh, colorful, and charming. Tell us about your inspiration, these days for what you’re designing.
LR: Thank you so much. I have always said that we’re a brand that is so much about entertaining. And our customer is a woman who has a calendar filled with events. And I have always said, I love the idea of matching my drink to my dress and my dress to my table. So, I am constantly looking at the ways that we do our shows, which is really creating an event. It’s kind of my fantasy of where you would wear these clothes. We’re constantly serving you some fabulous drink that’s in the theme of the show, and some food that kind of matches. It’s very quirky and fun. That concept of how you entertain and bring everything kind of all those details together, is something that constantly inspires me.
RG: That passion really comes through in your voice when you talk about it, which leads us to your latest and newest project, your book, Fresh Air Affairs. Can you elaborate a little bit on the book and what inspired you to create it?
LR: This is our second book with Rizzoli. And I’m so excited. Its publishing date is March 7th. And I love to entertain through fashion, through food, through everything. This was the book that kind of came out of…I wouldn’t say it came out of the pandemic, but I also love to be outside. And the pandemic was a time that you obviously had to spend so much time outside and entertaining that way if you were going to see someone. But even prior to that, all our shows, and my favorite shows that we ever put on, are the ones that are outdoors, and you have the magic of your surroundings. And you get to see what the sunlight is going to do when the sun goes down with the stars. There’s so much magic with being outdoors and this book is about celebrating that. Like, how do you use a field of wildflowers to really inspire you? It’s all that, the food, and everything to make all the details really go together. I don’t know if anyone ever notices all the details that we do, but I certainly like to point them out.
RG: Which is great to be able to do in a book, too, and it’s interesting in outdoors that you must be able to kind of roll with things a little more than with an event indoors. Meaning that the elements can lead to more unexpected things happening. What’s your piece of advice that you would give to somebody who wants to entertain al fresco?
LR: Karen Katz, who was the CEO of Neiman Marcus for a long time, came to me and asked, ‘What’s up with you and Mother Nature?’ I asked her what she meant, and she said, ‘Somehow, you always get a glorious day for your shows, and you are always outside. What’s your plan B?’ And I said, ‘Oh, Plan B is for Plan A to work.’
LAM: I love it. A Take No Prisoners piece of advice.
LR: I think that’s certainly not very reassuring to someone who has a lot of anxiety over this. I always just kind of feel like, oh, it’ll be fine. And if it’s not, we’ll just open some umbrellas, and we’ll be fine and figure it out. We have been burned a few times, but not really that many, so we’ve thrown caution to the wind and just said, we’re doing this outside. No, Plan B.
RG: Texans love to entertain. Tell us about your experience of growing up in Texas, and how has that influenced what you create both of fashion and your, your entertaining sensibility?
LR: My mother, whom you mentioned earlier, has fantastic taste and style. She loved to cook when I was growing up. And she was always making something adventurous. I really loved just kind of being involved in the kitchen, seeing whatever she was creating, and with all these different flavors. For some reason, I’ve always linked entertaining with that. But I’ve always linked all this together…the glamour, clothing, and beauty…plus, the sparkle and magic. I constantly loved that world. I feel like I am an entertainer as much as I’m a designer because I love to entertain and love to cook. I love to bring all these senses together. For me, I just see it as one world.
RG: Hearing you talk about and this, it seems like you use entertaining a way to drive your brand. Tell me how you know how much events really drive your overall brand, increase sales, and drive your business as a whole.
LR: I think they’re completely linked. And again, our customer is a woman who is the guest of, or she is the hostess…the best hostess. She is constantly doing things. So, we’re constantly trying to give her not only what to wear, but also ideas of how to make her events even more special…that much more detailed and that much more interesting through the book. With the recipes that we have in there and the ideas of how you match your drink to your dress, and your dress to your table, and just make everything fun and connected. For me, this is just so much fun. I love coming up with details and love coming up with new ideas and ways to kind of match it with whatever I’m wearing, or whatever I’m telling my guests to wear. I do think our brand really is driven as much by fashion as it is by kind of creating these fantasies of how you’re entertaining with fashion.
LAM: Speaking of branding, do you have a piece of sage advice that you would lend to our listeners and followers who are creative entrepreneurs looking to start their own brand?
LR: This is obviously an extremely tough industry. I would say there are two things that have really helped us in succeeding to whatever degree that we have succeeded. Persistence and having a passion for what you do and just deciding, I’m going to do it no matter what. Keep at it and put one foot in front of the other all the time. That is not an easy thing to do, by any stretch of the mind. The other thing about building a brand, we as a company and I as a designer, have always been very clear consistent with what our brand is about who we are. We’re not trying to be all things to all people. When you’re starting out, it’s very hard because people are giving you advice with suggestions and saying, try it this way and try that. Or, how about you look closer at this trend right now. Trends really matter, yet I don’t really think to your core customer that they do, I think your core customer comes to you because they love what you do. Keep doing that and get better at it. Keeping that interesting and exciting…and changing, but not changing what your vision, passion, and drive is. I think it’s important to stick in your lane and do what you do, no matter whether that’s hot at the moment or not. It doesn’t really matter.
RG: That’s really interesting, because when I you hear that, I think of a conversation that I had with Heidi Marquez Smith, who heads the Texas Cultural Trust, who is honoring you. She said the whole point is how people feel with a brand. People will feel loyal to you because you make them feel some level of joy and happiness with what you do and what you create. They’re going to follow you along. So long as you’re on the highway, you don’t have to be in the same lane, per se. Be on the same highway going to that destination and they’re willing to go along with you on the journey if you create a strong feeling and a strong sense of positivity. That associates with you and your brand.
LR: I would totally agree with that. And I think that is our customer… the ones who love our clothes, really love wearing them. Our clothes are typically very colorful and fun. They’re very happy. That is so much about who the brand is. They’re always looking to be gracious, entertaining, and have fun. Because if it’s not fun, what is the point of doing it? Or at least for me, that’s how I’ve always felt.
LAM: Amen to that. I agree. You’re known to be a great entertainer. I’ve seen so many great pieces on you in the media with your own entertaining talents in New York and Wyoming and everywhere you are, with your Fresh Air Affairs. As you progress, to do you see a whole bunch of more entertaining books in your future?
LR: You know, books do take so long to do, but they’re so much fun. Knowing me, yes, we’ll do something more. If anyone on my team is listening, they might die if they hear this. I just opened a store in Jackson Hole as well, so we’ve got a lot going on with that and a lot going on with the book. It’s fun to come up with these ideas and concepts and do it in a different way. I think entertaining really does bring a kind of this different element to our brand. It’s also just so authentic to who I am as a person and as a designer. I think that when you chronicle it in a book, it lasts forever, so that moment is always alive.
There is no such thing as the perfect event. Because if you try to try to create one, and it’s perfect, how do you learn? And how do you grow? It shows there are actually things you want to change for the future. I think that’s really a good thing. Perfection is never my goal. Fun is my goal. I think perfection kind of sucks some of the fun out of it, to tell you the truth. You know, I love those magical moments when something does kind of go wrong. It creates this whole level of drama that you know is out of your control and there’s really something I think so fun about that and so magical about that. To continue the metaphor, nature can either be your best guest or your worst guest.
LAM: Just like that charming drunk at a party.
LR: In theory, exactly.
RG: I want to touch upon something for our listener or follower who might be overwhelmed a little bit by what you said earlier about linking the dress to a cocktail to the dress to an event. Can you give a simple piece of advice to apply to anything you host, whether it’s a dinner party, an event for 20? Or, if it’s just having a couple of friends over for brunch?
LR: I absolutely think you can apply all of these ideas to any type of event that you’re doing. I am such a believer in the details. They communicate, wow, this is going to be a little different, a little bit more fun, and a little bit more special. I have long said that the very top thing on my most important kind of party essential list is having a specialty cocktail. That doesn’t matter if you’re having three people over, or 2300. There’s something about thinking about what you are going to greet your guests with. It’s having a smile on your face, not being stressed, and having a specialty cocktail, which are all so linked for me. I think specialty cocktails are such a great way to communicate the detail that’s going to be coming forth. Does that mean you have to be spending forever mixing up drinks? Absolutely not. It’s so easy to make something special, either by the use of color, or the ice cubes that you use. Or are you putting edible flowers in the drinks? There’s just something really fun about that. And I think it’s such a great way to, to greet people and to really show them that they’re in for kind of an interesting time based on the details that you’re thinking through.
Basically, once you pick like the color of the cocktail you’re going to have, then that allows you to kind of figure out what you’re going to wear that will complement that. It doesn’t mean you have to be monochromatic, as long as it goes together and fits…so that you’re embodying those details. It’s the same when I’m designing a collection,
LAM: To your point about details, I think that shows that you care as a host or hostess. It shows you’re thinking about your guests and making them feel as welcome as possible.
LR: I definitely am. But I’ll tell you what, selfishly, I get such a kick out of coming up with fun details and other things that half the time you would never even notice.
LAM: You’re my kind of hostess that’s for sure. I love it because there’s always more is more is more in my opinion.
LR: I’m with you. More is more is more is more…just keep going. Never stop.
RG: For a couple of fun questions, one thing that we’d love to know is what skill haven’t you included on your very extensive resume that makes you unique?
LR: What skill, huh? Well, I do love to cook. I love to mix up drinks. But you might not know I was a tap dancer in college.
LAM: Is there an artistic medium in which you do not excel? Designer, entertainer…tap dancer?
LR: I absolutely do not excel at tap dancing. But I would just go terrorize people in the grocery store because my tap teacher told me that the best place to to practice your tap dancing was the grocery aisles because of it’s a very crisp sound. I have this crazy table in our New York apartment where one piece of the table comes out of the ceiling, comes down on cables, and meets with two pieces of the table that come out of the floor where you sit Japanese style. It links up with two other tables. So, we can seat 68 people, you know, all at one long dinner table, but then it appears and disappears, kind of with the push of a button. But where my tap dancing comes in, is that I love to tap down the big, long table. This is, of course, after a lot of tequila. Hopefully most people don’t know this because my tap dancing is pretty terrible. But know that I still love to tap dance.
LAM: I’m getting visions of Auntie Mame with the table that comes down out of the ceiling. Sounds pretty genius to me.
LR: Yes, it’s a fun table.
RG: I think this might be a good anchoring question for the end of our chat…what is your all-time favorite fashion or party look? And how have you put your own spin on it?
LR: I’ve had a lot of party looks that I’ve loved. But I don’t ever like to be too expected. Of course. I think our brand is so closely affiliated with a dress, but I love pant suits and short suits. I would say colors. The thing that I’m always dressed in is generally bright colors, and I love to just ham that up as much as possible.
RG: That’s some really good sage advice there and it shows that you’re a Texan through and through. We’ve had conversations with Bob Mackie, and he told us that whenever he is in New York, he could always tell someone was from Texas, based on their love, and their usage, of color.
LR: I would 100% agree with that. Absolutely. Never been a color in my opinion. A lot of folks in New York do like to wear black. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s definitely a distinction and a difference, you know, between the two. Color really helps gives you that personality that can help you kind of shine through in a way that you a neutral really can’t. I’ve just always said that it’s so much fun to walk into a room wearing a bright yellow dress, and everyone else is dressed in more muted colors. I adore that. Color has been a mainstay of any collection that I’ve ever done forever.
LAM: Right. Color defines you and it also defines the Lela Rose woman for whom you design. Again, congratulations on your honor a jillion times over. We’re looking forward to applauding you tonight as you take the stage and receive your medal. We’re excited that you are a fellow Texan and excited for all your past current and upcoming success that’s in the queue for you.
LR: Thank you all so much. It’s been so much fun to get to speak with you both and I so appreciate it.
RG: Lela Rose’s new book, Fresh Air Affairs is available after March 7th from multiple outlets including LelaRose.com, RizzoliUSA.com, and at fine bookstores near you.
