Sophie Theallet (born 1964 in

Bagnères-de-Bigorre Bagnères-de-Bigorre (, literally ''Bagnères of Bigorre''; oc, label= Gascon, Banhèras de Bigòrra ) is a commune and subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées Department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. Name The town was known ...

, France) is a French fashion designer whose clients include First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

, and

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

Career

At 18, Sophie Theallet moved to Paris to attend the fashion design school, Studio Berçot. She graduated early after winning France's "National Young Design Award" and was hired by

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs inc ...

. Theallet then joined

Azzedine Alaïa Azzedine Alaïa (; ar, عز الدين عليّة, ʿIzz ad-Dīn ʿAlayya, ; 26 February 1935 – 18 November 2017) was a Tunisian couturier and shoe designer, particularly successful beginning in the 1980s. Early life Alaïa was born in Tunis, ...

for a decade before moving to New York City. She now lives in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. After moving to New York City, Theallet continued to work with Alaïa on a part-time basis, while also freelancing for other fashion labels. In 2007, she launched her own label, Sophie Theallet. In 2009, she won the CFDA/

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

Fashion Fund Award. In 2012, she won the US Woolmark Prize. In 2015, Theallet was a Couture Consultant for the movie '' The Dressmaker'' to Director

Jocelyn Moorhouse Jocelyn Denise Moorhouse (born 4 September 1960) is an Australian screenwriter and film director. She has directed films such as ''Proof (1991 film), Proof'', ''How to Make an American Quilt'', ''A Thousand Acres (film), A Thousand Acres'' and ...

starring

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

Theallet is an advocate for inclusion, representation, and diversity in her Fashion campaigns and her Runway Shows In 2014, she partnered with retailer

Lane Bryant Lane Bryant Inc. is an American women's apparel and intimates specialty retailer focusing on plus-size clothing. The company began in 1904 with maternity designs created by Lena Himmelstein, Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin. Lane Bryant, Inc., is ...

to bring Fashion Luxury Design to the Plus Size market. She is a trailblazer for opening the road for representation of Plus Size models on the Runway and in High-End Fashion. Vogue writes about her fashion shows fairly regularly. For example, the Spring 2014 show, which by standing convention was in fall 2013, generated comments from the reviewer that her work "established a tone of ripe sexuality". In November 2016, Theallet wrote an open letter explaining that she would not be dressing future First Lady

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...

due to what she feels was "racist and xenophobic" rhetoric emerging from the tone of Donald Trump's campaign efforts for the U.S. presidency. She was followed shortly by designers

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

and

Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

A few days later,

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

responded to Theallet's statement by saying Melania "is a very beautiful woman" and that he felt "any designer should be proud to dress her". In 2018, she and her family relocated to

where she founded her new label
Room 502
a limited-edition line that is entirely self-funded and sold only through their website.

References

External links

Official Sophie Theallet Site

Style.com

Council of Fashion Designers of America

Voguepedia

Room 502
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theallet, Sophie 1964 births French fashion designers French women fashion designers Living people Protests against Donald Trump