Tamara Ralph has built a legacy of exquisite craftsmanship, feminine silhouettes, and a vision that seamlessly blends heritage with modernity.
Since relaunching her namesake brand two years ago, the Australian designer has reaffirmed her place in the world of haute couture, designing elegant pieces that signify strength and femininity, and her gowns have become red carpet regulars with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. With her Spring 2025 couture collection, which debuted in Paris this January, Ralph once again asserts the values that are at the heart of the brand, presenting a world of intricate detailing, architectural draping, and an ethereal elegance that feels both timeless and forward-thinking.
In this exclusive interview, Ralph shares the inspirations behind her latest collection, the artisanal techniques that bring her creations to life, and how she envisions the future of haute couture in an era of evolving fashion. From the atelier to the runway, she takes us inside her creative process, revealing the dedication and passion that continue to shape her house’s unmistakable aesthetic.
Tell us about the Spring 2025 Haute Couture collection and the show in Paris.
I wanted the show to feel very romantic this season, so we chose the American Cathedral as a show space because of its grand, magical appeal. We wanted the show to be based around symphonies and music and the grace and grandeur of a symphony masterpiece. The collection features delicate harmonies and intricate lace of crystal compositions, so it transitions from quite romantic soft tones to quite strong black and white tones, taking you on a journey. You can see a lot of my signature elements in the designs. I love colour, playing with feminine strength and having juxtapositions of fabrications and textures. It was really a beautiful show and a beautiful moment.
How do you think you have evolved as a designer this season, and what new elements have come into the collection?
We wanted to develop further the hardware work that we’ve been doing recently. We also used hand-painted enamel, which we wanted to soften and make richer with more colour. I think the collection has evolved from last season, and there was a very elegant feel. We wanted something very polished, with classic elegance but with a youthful modernity to it, and I think that comes through in everything I’m working on at the moment. We are evolving the brand to have much more of a lifestyle aspect, taking couture into other product categories, but with that mindset of it being very elevated, limited edition and very exclusive.
What are some of the product categories we can expect to see you expanding into?
We did a wonderful collaboration with Audemars Piguet recently, which was the first time I delved into watchmaking. Collaborating with a house that shared the same vision and respect for craftsmanship, quality, innovation, and creativity was incredible. They were wonderful to work with because they have the signature Royal Oak, and to reinvent such an iconic piece was really amazing. That was just the start of the wider collaboration that we’re working on together, and it was nice to have such a juxtaposition from what I’ve done in the past. As a brand, they have always been focused on a male-orientated market, so for them to push the female market with something completely different to what they’ve offered before was great. Funnily enough, the watch appealed to both genders!
We recently launched a wonderful collaboration with the French crystal brand Daum. They are a brand that has such an amazing history, and it was my first collaboration in that field. They wanted to have a collection that showcased both brands, and we wanted to highlight the Art Nouveau period. I wanted to have some of the decadent elements of my brand infused with theirs. I learnt a lot about the way they make their pieces. It takes a long time, and they are all one of a kind because no two pieces can ever be the same. It’s a fascinating process and the length of time it takes to make one piece and the delicate process is much like making a couture gown. We took signature elements of my brand, like hardware and pearls, the soft flow of fabrics, elegant, feminine details, and rose tones, and we fused it into a collection that’s worked incredibly well and has been very well received.
We are now working on a collaboration that we’re launching next year in another product category, which I can’t say too much about yet, but it will give us again another interesting element to the house. It’s very important for us as a brand to pick and choose the partners we work with, keep it very elevated and exclusive, and work on pieces of art. I think for me as a creative, it needs to make sense and have a story behind it, and I need to feel passionate about what I’m doing and who I’m designing for.
When you first came back with the brand, you spoke of this strength and femininity that you wanted to have at the core – where are you now with this and what’s the vision looking ahead?
I think, as a designer, you never get to where you want to be. It’s a constant journey. I think with each day, you can have a new idea or direction that you want to take, and obviously, the brand direction that we’re taking is very clear. We have so many different ideas for expansion, but it’s always important to do that in a very considerate way, and the journey needs to be the right one. We’re very excited about what future collaborations will hold and what product categories we’re looking to launch, but haute couture still remains the heart and soul of the brand. It’s been in my family for generations, and I’ve been showing in Paris since 2014, so it really is the heart and soul of my work, and that’s what stems from everything else. So we are still very much concentrating on growing and developing that. I opened the Paris Maison last year, which is a very beautiful, exclusive space – a lot of my VIP clients come to visit – and so it’s an exciting time. There is a lot more that we’re working on and looking at doing, but we have already grown a lot in a short period of time.
We have seen some incredible red carpet moments over the past two years – are there any moments that have stood out to you or any women you would still like to dress?
All the women I work with are amazing. They are all elegant, powerful women who have confidence and strength, and it is important that the women we dress embody the brand. And so, for me, it’s about working with the right people and the right women that we feel will showcase the brand in the right way.
But yes, we are very blessed to have so many incredible women who admire what I do and to work with these women is amazing. I couldn’t choose my favourite moment because I think each moment has its own special element. But we are very grateful that we have these amazing women wanting to wear the brand.
You are now a mum to two daughters – tell us about motherhood and how you’re balancing that with running a business.
I think women who can balance everything are incredible because it’s really very difficult to be everything. But I think you do need to find a balance and separate your time with family from your career. I do, however, love to involve my family in everything. They’re always at the show. My daughters are backstage; everyone is there, including my mother! We do model castings together, and it’s lovely to have such support and such an amazing family. My eldest daughter comes to the atelier all the time. She loves to see all the dresses coming together and is genuinely interested. She’s even becoming quite opinionated about it! She chooses the collection sketches with me, and I like to involve her. If it’s a path she wants to do when she’s older, then amazing, and if it’s not, that’s fine too, but at least she’s been exposed to the opportunity.
The little one is now ten months old; I had her only one month before the previous couture show, so it was quite a lot having a baby and putting on the show one month later. I had to do a lot via video call, and she was backstage with me while the show was happening. They give me the strength to do it as well. It’s lovely having daughters and doing what I do because it’s like a fairy tale for them, but it’s also nice for them to see their mother working so hard because it gives them a basis for hard work and morals, and I want them to grow up with a strong woman as a role model. That’s the best lesson you can give them.
As an independent brand, what are the biggest challenges you face, and how do you overcome them?
With some of the growth in the industry, it also introduces an element that clients want something more exclusive and less exposed and an important part of my work is to focus on that type of clientele. I design for women who want something very exclusive, and that’s also part of the reason we are doing interesting niche collaborations. We want to keep that exclusivity to the brand.
I think it’s an interesting time for luxury. There are a lot of changes happening, but I think it’s a time when the type of clientele who want something even more exclusive is growing.
How do you feel having your name on the brand is beneficial today?
Yes, there are actually not that many brands left with the original founders or designers at the brand. I’m very close with my clients, and we have become like family and they are very loyal to the brand, and I like to have that connection with my clients and to know what they want, not only is it nice for me, but I also get an insight into what people are buying and how the market’s moving. So that connection with clients is very important for me as a business owner and as a creative.
What are you currently working on?
The new couture collection will be revealed in July. I had an incredible response to the recent couture collection, so we had a lot of things that stemmed from that which we are working on. There are new collaborations in the mix that we’re looking at launching early next year, and we have two more product categories in development which we will be able to announce soon. We are keeping ourselves very busy!
Tell us about the brand in the Middle East.
I come to the Middle East almost on a monthly basis and hope to be spending more time there, too. The region is very important and special to the brand and me, so we’ll be looking at doing some more things there soon.
