Meet The Fashion Designer of the Moment Who’s Dressed Rihanna, J.Lo, Oprah…
Sally LaPointe is what every “It Girl” is wearing these days
Ever since I was little, I’ve always sent handwritten thank you notes.
Isn’t it nice to get something like that in the mail these days?
And though I don’t consider myself a packrat, I do keep many of the notes I get, and I remember every single one.
Which is why, when I spoke to fashion designer Sally LaPointe a few weeks back, I mentioned the note she wrote me… nine years ago.
That’s right. Sally wrote me a note thanking me for attending her fashion show… in 2014.
I never forgot it.
Right now, LaPointe is having a major moment.
That’s Rihanna wearing her dress just days after performing at the Super Bowl.
Oprah’s a fan. So is First Lady Jill Biden.
Believe it or not, Sally originally wanted to be a painter. Then, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design, she did a tour of different majors, including fashion.
That’s when she decided, “Okay, I can do this.”
I, for one, am grateful.
I’ve always loved Sally’s clothes… but, lately, well, she’s really hit her stride.
She also recently launched bridal.
So, I thought — what a perfect time to sit down and catch up.
HITTING A WAVE
ALINA CHO: I feel like recently you’ve really hit on something. Your clothes are connecting with a lot of people who have a choice of buying whatever they want, and they're choosing you.
What do you think is going on?
SALLY LAPOINTE: I think to your point, yes, there is definitely a wave and a bit of a stride happening right now. I think that COVID was actually a little bit of a blessing for us. We were one of the lucky ones to be able to take a pause and really look at what we're doing and restructure it how we wanted.
ALINA CHO: Interesting. So, what does that mean?
SALLY LAPOINTE: We changed our calendar quite a bit. I design two collections together [instead of four] now. I'll do Pre-Fall and Fall together and then Resort and Spring together. We show them together [to retailers, but] we ship them separately, so they still follow the retail [schedule].
ALINA CHO: But you streamlined the thought process.
SALLY LAPOINTE: Streamlined the thought process, yes, and I think 360 and total endgame from a customer [standpoint].
ALINA CHO: So, you drilled down on what you believed women wanted and needed?
SALLY LAPOINTE: Yeah. I think I stopped being concerned with what we, "should be doing,” and was just being confident in my decisions. And that’s when everything just fell into place and it became very natural, honestly — being able to just be free and make that statement and say that we dress powerful women. And it just resonated and clicked.
DRESSING RIHANNA (& OTHER CELEBS)
ALINA CHO: Can we talk about Rihanna? I mean, my God.
SALLY LAPOINTE: I know.
ALINA CHO: How did that happen?
SALLY LAPOINTE: The celebrity thing is interesting. I've been very blessed with celebrity endorsements. You know, I don't pay anyone. People are wearing the clothing simply because they love it. And that, to me, is the biggest compliment.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
SALLY LAPOINTE: So, Rihanna bought that dress, and she wore it gorgeously.
ALINA CHO: I love that. And Meghan Trainor, did you see her in your clothes on Instagram?
SALLY LAPOINTE: I did, yes. Meghan is a sweetheart. She kind-of became a fan a while ago, maybe in the past five, six, seven years. I've fit her a couple times, and we're both from Massachusetts.
ALINA CHO: Let me ask you this — what happens when a Rihanna wears your dress? Does it sell out immediately or do you get more traffic on the site? I’m curious to know what the practical impact is when you have that kind of celebrity moment. And, I mean, Rihanna is in a class of her own.
SALLY LAPOINTE: It definitely moves the needle, some more than others. I think it depends, too, on who's buzzing or who's got a moment going on. The fact that Rihanna just did the Super Bowl and made this comeback definitely makes a bigger statement. And so, we had a lot of traction on our website. People buying, people calling and emailing, DM-ing on Instagram.
ALINA CHO: When it comes to your clothes, I know that what I connect with is the cut of your dresses. There’s always something a little sexy, whether it's a sky-high slit or your chic knits. It’s so hard to stand out in this industry, but I think you do.
SALLY LAPOINTE: I think I have an advantage, too, of being a woman, because I do get stressed [about getting dressed]. I also think it's an advantage that I’m not a size two. I do have a very good understanding of the way clothing fits on a woman's body. In all of my designs, [I want to make sure that my customer is not] uncomfortable or sweaty or any of those things. So, the clothing really is a statement, but when you take it apart, the pieces are actually very simple and easy and universal to wear for a lot of different women, all shapes and sizes and ages, too. We dress everyone from young Hollywood in their 20s up to Oprah…
and Jill Biden.
A NEW BRIDAL LINE
ALINA CHO: You [just launched] bridal.
Tell me everything.
SALLY LAPOINTE: It's funny, my entire career, I've been very careful about growing [my brand] organically and doing the right thing at the right time and not rushing anything. So, what happened was, on Instagram, I started seeing a lot of women wearing our cream pieces as bridal. I think, too, the timing right now with COVID, with the world, with women in power, people are now kicking the idea of the traditional wedding. So, not only are there tons of events around the wedding, like bachelorette parties or morning after breakfasts or rehearsal dinners, people really are pushing the idea of what a wedding is. So, it really just made 100% sense to us.
ALINA CHO: It makes perfect sense. Mickey Drexler did the same thing at J.Crew way back when. He started bridal because he noticed women were buying multiples of the same dress, and they were using them as bridesmaids dresses.
SALLY LAPOINTE: Exactly. The [customers] were doing it anyway, and it was just so fun to [create], and the women are loving it.
ALINA CHO: Just one more question — how you want a woman to feel when you dress them?
SALLY LAPOINTE: When she walks into the room and you look at her and you're like, "Oh, damn, she's doing something.”
ALINA CHO: She's got it going on.
SALLY LAPOINTE: I love women who are not afraid and want to walk into a room and own it. I think there’s a lot of power in that.