Tulane Alum and Bridal Designer: Lela Orr at NY Bridal Week

When Lela Orr started at Tulane, designing wedding dresses was not the career she had in mind. Fashion, designing clothing, and sewing were just fun passions that she enjoyed and did well. She was the closet and costume friend that everyone called up for Halloween, Mardi Gras, and just about any fun night out in Nola. But after graduating from Tulane and majoring in business, she decided to head straight to the Big Apple to work for designers and brands. From there, she began to realize that not only was she good at designing and creating, it was her passion.

After attending Tulane, Lela continued her studies at Parsons Design School, graduating with a degree in Fashion Design. After a few years in New York, Lela is back in her home state of Louisiana, designing and building her brand Ferrah. Ferrah is a clothing brand focused on creating custom and bespoke bridal and special-occasion dresses. Each dress is specially created and designed for its customer and every collection is unique to a specific inspiration. 

This past month, the “011” collection was created and presented in New York at New York Bridal Fashion Week. This collection’s inspiration was not limited to one specific thing, but rather a feeling. To Lela, it was the feeling of nostalgia that fall and winter bring to her – specifically the emotion and memories that the wind carries when the temperature changes.

This fall, I had the privilege of interning for Lela and working on this collection. I was also able to attend NYBFW with her and the Ferrah team. Throughout these past few months, I have learned about the entire design process of creating a unique and beautiful wedding gown and a collection. Lela has taught me the importance of taking time and care for every aspect of creation and how to work hard to achieve your full passions and dreams. Here are a few words from her and her experience so far <3 

How did you get into fashion and design? Did you always feel a pull to that career path?

My interest in fashion started long before I got into designing and constructing clothes. I attribute my love of couture to my grandmother. She was a fabulous southern lady. Whenever I’d stay with my grandparents, she would send me off with one of her old French or American Vogue copies as a parting gift. At a young age, I realized fashion was so much more than what I saw friends wearing at school or at the local mall; fashion can be wearable art. 

As for design - it started with upcycling. When I was in high school I started mending and altering my own clothes so they would last longer or look tailor-made. At the time terms like “sustainable fashion” and “upcycle” didn’t really exist, or at least they didn’t in my world, but that was what I was doing. 

What is your favorite part about being in the wedding and design industry?

Creating bridal gowns, especially custom bespoke pieces for clients is my favorite part about being in the wedding and design industry. A wedding gown is a really sacred piece. When a bride comes to the FERRAH showroom and begins to tell me about their partner, wedding plans, and design ideas, I feel as if I’m helping to tell their story through the art of dress. It’s a piece that may live on as a family heirloom. It really is an honor to create something so special and collaborate with my clients. 

As a designer, do you ever experience creative block or burn out? If so, how do you overcome that?

Oh absolutely. The fashion industry as a whole can feel very draining. To overcome burnout I’ve learned to hold myself and my brand to very different standards than most others. For example, we don’t put FERRAH designs into production so I don’t feel the need to listen to corporate buyers because they aren’t my clients - you are. We are a direct to consumer brand and each piece is made-to-measure. Also even though we show at New York Bridal Fashion Week on a seasonal calendar, we create seasonless collections. Doing our own thing, not over-producing or putting pressure on ourselves to compete in a B2B market helps me stay inspired and not feel burnt out. 

How did Tulane prepare you for your career and where you are today?

Tulane offered so many incredible courses and resources that helped set me up for success. Admittedly, learning excel or taking courses like Accounting 101 were far from my favorite but so helpful today. I’m especially grateful for my capstone courses in the b school where I learned how to write a solid business plan with real workflow and financial models. I actually used several of those models when writing my first business plan for FERRAH. As a business owner you wear many hats. While my design hat came later, I’m so grateful for my business degree. 

What advice would you give current Tulane students who are interested in fashion and design? 

Your 20s are for taking risks. The best way to stand out is to take risks and overcome fear of judgement and failure to develop a unique point of view. 

If you are interested in becoming a fashion designer, my advice is to sew. Sew as often as you can. This advice may sound obvious, or even monotonous, but I often meet with many young designers and they can create a killer mood board but they haven’t fully grasped garment construction. To become a great designer, I feel that you need to master construction. Once you know the rules and feel confident in your skills, you can then create your own rules and make truly inspired and original designs. 

My last piece of advice is to not get in your own way. I think a part of me always wanted to be a fashion designer but when I was young, I felt like fashion design was a very intimidating career path. I lived in a small town in north Louisiana and come from a middle-class family with no ties to the fashion world. What could I possibly contribute to the fashion industry? The answer is a lot. It does not matter where you are from, who you know or don’t know, and how much you have. We are all capable of greatness - that’s why it is so important to not talk yourself out of your dreams before you even attempt to pursue them. <3

The Laurie gown from the newest collection was featured in Vogue! 

Lela is currently taking applications for Spring interns. Email your details, resume, and portfolio to design@ferrah.co <3