FALLSTYLE
DesigninMelbourne,hasaneyefor“whata coutureclient
wouldexpect”saysLilyTempleton,a fashionwriterinParis.
“Youwantsomethingthatscreamswealth,thatsaysI had
thismadetomeasure,andobviouslyTamarahastheskillsto
answerthat.”Russodescribestheduo’sethosas“unarrogant”
luxury.“Wealwayswantourclientstofeelwelcome.”Ralph
goesevenfurther,describingtheirdeepclientbase,withcus-
tomersin 58 countries,asan“extendedfamily.”
Whenstartingoff,Russo,38,usedhisconnectionsasa
formerbankerandconsultantwithDeutscheBankAGand
BarclaysWealthManagementtogainthebrandanearlyfoot-
holdintheMiddleEast,whereabout700,000high-net-worth
individualscontrol$2.6trillion.
Thatstrategycaughttheeyeoftheirfirstoutsideinves-
tor,BritishtelecommunicationsbillionaireJohnCaudwell.He
becamefriendlywiththecoupleaftermeetingthemsocially
andin 2014 acquireda 7%stakeforanundisclosedprice.He
waspersuadedtomaketheinvestment—hisfirstinthefash-
ionindustry—through“acombinationofTamara’sskillasa
designerandthecouple’sabilitytonetworkintheMiddle
Eastandwina lotoftheMiddleEasternroyalfamiliesascus-
tomers,”hesays.
Twooftheduo’ssixlocationsareintheGulf—oneinDubai,
oneinDoha.RumoredroyaldevoteesincludeSheikhaMoza
bintNasseral-Misnad,wifeoftheformerQatariEmir,and
SaudiPrincessAmeerahal-Taweel,ex-wifeofbillionaire
PrinceAlwaleed.Ralph&Russo’sLondonheadquarters
isalsoparticularlyconvenientforwealthyGulfclientele,
manyofwhomconsiderthecitya secondhome.Theyhave
a secondLondonshopatHarrods,oneinMonteCarlo,and
anotherinParis.OutpostsinNewYorkandMiamiareintheir
“immediateplans.”In 2018 theduobegana ready-to-wear
line,featuringasymmetricblackmini-dressesfor$2,000and
$14,500pleatedlaméeveninggowns.Acustom-designed
piececanrunmorethansixfigures.
Theduoalsohasexpandedintoshoeswitha linecalledthe
Eden,a $2,000stilettowithornamentalfiligreeleavesspiraling
uptheheel,anda lineofpursescalledtheAlina.Identifiable
bya feather-shapedhandlethatcomesinsilverorrosegold,
thehandbagscanbemadeofmink,calf,orpython,andprices
canreachmorethan$9,000.A lineofbeautyproductsandfra-
grancesis alsointheworks.
Ralph& Russois tryingtoleverageitscachetwitha new
investment,potentiallyvaluedat$50million,thatwillexpand
itsreach.InJuly,GermanentrepreneurLarsWindhorst’s
TennorHoldingBVtooka minoritystakeinthecompany,
withanoptiontoboosthisinterestto40%.Thesizeofthe
currentinvestmentis unclear.Tennoris theonlyothershare-
holderalongsideCaudwell,theco-founders,andinvestorNick
Candy’sfamily office, Candy Capital.
Russo boasted to the Financial Times in 2016 that the com-
pany was “a profitable business from the start.” And given the
heady prices and stream of clients, you’d think the business
would be handsomely profitable. But filings indicate losses
soon began to mount as Ralph & Russo grew. The company Inside Ralph &
Russo’s London
headquarters
A blacktulle-
layered gown with
floral lace appliqué