Two Dallas designers struck it big last week, proving now more than ever — fashion is still in demand. Conquering the throes of the pandemic, both Shavonne Dorsey and Lisa “LeLe” Sadoughi, racked in the wins, tallying another pinnacle to their career’s success.
With over 20 years of experience, LeLe Sadoughi is affectionately the Queen of Accessories, with a resume that reads like the Who’s Who in fashion. The native Dallasite designed for Rebecca Taylor, Ippolita, Banana Republic, Anthropologie, Neiman Marcus, J. Crew and Tory Burch, while worn by the likes of Kate Middleton, Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Campbell, Mindy Kaling and many others.
Expanding from jewelry design to her knotted jeweled headbands, Sadoughi has anchored her flagship at Highland Park Village, and all under her eponymous brand. The LeLe Sadoughi store officially opened May 13th with fans clocking in from Houston, L.A., and Florida to celebrate alongside the designer on opening day.
“[The pandemic] gave me a bit of energy to innovate,” Sadoughi said. “We expanded our product category to include masks — the matching masks with the headbands was huge. With everything so uncertain, people wanted to treat themselves a little bit and make themselves happy. People don’t want to do their hair and they’re at home working — so headbands, jewelry, and matching accessories have been a little bit of fun in their life. Right now, it’s all about being happy.”
Headbands range from $49 to $198, adorned with or without embellishments, and in a multi-array of fabrics. Additional top sellers include the matching mask and headband sets beginning at $49, and our favorite, the face mask chain ($45), available in silver, tortoise, gold, rainbow or pearl.
The Lele Sadoughi flagship location is now open (67 Highland Park Village) and offering exclusive accessories that will only be sold on site.
While Sadoughi settles in, 17-year designer Shavonne Dorsey took on HSN. Traditionally a plus-size designer, HSN (Home Shopping Network) released the Shavonne Dorsey spring collection May 13th, expanding the sizes from XS to 3X.
“I’m so excited. HSN is such a great company, and they are big on size inclusivity,” Dorsey said.
With a career bathed in blood, sweat, and tears, her latest partnership with HSN is the culmination of unwavering persistence. Dorsey emailed the network repeatedly — sending pictures, specs, details and more — until one day, she hit it big.
“Little emails to HSN started to turn into little responses,” Dorsey reminisced. “Little responses then turned into little conversations. Conversations then turned into more questions…and now here we are.”
The designer appeared virtually for her initial HSN segment on May 13th, with the hopes to travel to the official HSN set soon. Boasting vibrant prints and colors, the spring collection includes jumpsuits ($76.90), joggers ($53.75), hi-low blouses ($56.50), leggings ($48) and her top seller, the Bella Bubble dress ($94.55). While all is but a dream, Dorsey really has one mission in her role as a designer, and it boils down to an easy concept.
“I want women to love themselves. I want them to understand how great they truly are. Anything that you love and that you truly care about, you dress it well [and] you dress it beautifully. That is what this is all about. It’s not about looking beautiful, it’s about being beautiful, because that’s who you are.”
For more on Shavonne Dorsey, visit ShavonneDorsey.com. To shop her latest collection on HSN, visit Hsn.com/Shop/Shavonne-Dorsey.
