Georgia Is a New Made-to-Order Dress Label Inspired by Fashion Advice From André Leon Talley
Georgia
In 2015, a few weeks after launching her own fashion label, designer Kelsey Randall had a one-on-one with Vogue Contributing Editor André Leon Talley. She’d gone to his book signing 2 hours before it was meant to begin and, being the first one there, she approached him, lookbook in hand, once he arrived. “I waited for the right moment to try and speak to him and I asked if he’d review my work,” Randall remembers. “After waiting for a long while, I’d finally worked up the nerve to approach him, which is not an easy feat when he is wearing his giant robe and is such a commanding presence.” She adds, “He slowly and silently looked through my book and I was sweating bullets. He finally closed it, looked me dead in the eye and in his booming voice said: ‘It is your duty to evolve the baby doll!’ I was shook.”
Randall was so shook that she plays his words over and over again in her head, even up until this day. Over the last several years, her eponymous label of “fantasy fashion” items, including crystal chainmail and holographic organza, has been worn by the likes of Lorde and Lizzo, as well as more indie musicians on stage and for their album covers. And while Randall, who is Parsons graduate and has designed for Bill Blass under both Prabal Gurung and Peter Som, has certainly made a name for herself among a small, loyal private clientele, she wanted to go a step further, to take Mr. Talley’s words into account and to evolve with a more affordable, approachable diffusion line.
Today, Randall launched Georgia, a made-to-order collection of baby doll–inspired dresses in pastel pink, blue, and white, named after her home state. Prices range from $395 to $765 and customers are able to choose from seven silhouettes and five materials, as well as customizable sizing from 0 to 20 (shoppers can input their exact measurements into the Georgia website and a CGI mockup of each custom piece will also be available before clicking to buy). Randall will release new options for materials and silhouettes every three months. Lead time on these pieces is about four to six weeks, with every dress being cut and sewn by Randall and her team in Brooklyn.
She is also offering a small selection of ready-to-wear pieces, should the client not choose a custom order. “The idea behind Georgia is to have a collection of your very favorite dresses that don’t go out of style and that you know exactly why they cost as much as they do,” the designer says. “We are living in such a strange time where there is a huge dichotomy between our excessive consumerism and the very real need to limit our negative impact on the planet. She adds, “It can be challenging when you are a designer and you have hundreds of new ideas that you would love to bring to life each day, but at the same time I don’t want to create anything that is just going to hang in a closet and not be worn, or be thrown away.”
Randall is one of many young designers currently focusing their efforts on reducing waste in the industry and shifting consumers’ focus away from fast fashion. “I firmly believe that great style is timeless,” Randall says. “Case in point: I have dresses that my grandmother made that look as nice on me today as they did on her when she wore them over 50 years ago.” “I hope that by inviting our clients to have this bespoke experience creating a custom dress that it will make the piece have greater meaning to them.” Another thing she hopes for with her new venture? “That this Georgia collection is a good start on ALT’s command!”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
