We recently connected with Adorr Jessie and have shared our conversation below.

Adorr, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I don’t follow the standard fashion calendar and I don’t ever care too. The fashion industry became overloaded with the constant demand of releasing collections back to back. It became excessive & some designer clothing brands would end up with obscene amounts of waste due to such a high output. The customer can’t keep up with an ever changing system especially if they’re still trying to catch up with the last collection. I focus on capsule collections of 3-5 designs. I’m making pieces that can integrate into your wardrobe. My customer is versatile so she’s wearing her pieces in the summer and building upon them in the winter. That’s what I design for functionality. The girls that love to repeat wear their clothes. Slow fashion is where my focus is. The fashion industry has done enough harm with its carbon footprint. My brand is apart of the solution to focus on reducing overconsumption & enhancing quality hand crafted designs that live with you for generations.

Adorr, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a quintessential Southern Diva with many talents that chose me as the vessel. I say that because most of my creativity was written in the stars. My Father is who I credit my love of Fashion Designing & fine art to & my Mother gave me her singing voice & her love for hairstyling & many other things. I spent most of my childhood years modeling in fashion shows & hair shows. I grew up in Montgomery Alabama where all my familial roots are. Houston, Texas raised me between ages 9-14. I spent a lot of time cultivating my fashion sense during that era. That’s when my dad really saw my love for designing so he nurtured it. I knew early who and what I wanted to be. I went to SCAD and graduated with a BFA in Fashion Design in 2018. I had such a wonderful college career. I won scholarships and awards & great acclaim with my professors and peers. It was a great experience. I knew shortly after releasing my senior collection that I wanted to launch my own brand, Lavelleadorr. The name combines my dads middle name (Lavelle) and my first name ( Adorr). My mother thought of it shortly after I was born. It stuck & Its meaning has roots. He’s the beginning and I’m the future. Launching started like most endeavors post grad. Bright and optimistic but the experience will humble you. I made 3 sells & it was wonderful but I wasn’t quite ready yet. I had to hit a hard pause on it all because life was happening and I couldn’t catch my grip. 5 years later, Im proud to say that I relaunched my brand Dec. 2024. That’s an accomplishment that I’m most proud of. My focus is women’s wear. I’m really passionate about being a representation for black American female designers. I don’t favor transactional experiences in the fashion industry. My work speaks to the woman that needs to feel something in order to buy into something. I grew up watching my parents and grandparents take pride in their presentation. The art of dressing is what drives me because it’s only an extension of our inner worlds. To adorn yourself is to adore yourself. My designs are crafted with that in mind. That detail, functionality & love. Your wardrobe should work for you, which is why I created the Denni Denim Corset that has convertible sleeves that can be worn 10+ ways and counting. It’s my favorite design. I’m all about nuance and practicality because I’m also designing for myself. I love structure, flounce, clean lines & volume. I love womanhood and feminine whimsy. Designing for us is so fun we can make the rules and dream of ourselves. We can rebrand and recreate and accentuate. That’s so exhilarating! A large part of my brands mission is focusing on positive body image and size inclusivity for the curvy women. I’m from the South where the curvy female body is to be celebrated & adorned. I offer sizes 2-18 & I will be extending those sizes as the brand grows. My latest collection features three denim designs & two cotton blouses with a flare. I love what dark wash stretch denim & a white shirt does for a look. It’s so classic. You can never go wrong with it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn being entitled to success just because I’m talented. I thought that all my natural talent would carry me through the process of becoming but it can’t stand alone. I struggled with feeling like all I had to do was a great job and then my supporters would notice. That’s not always the case. When you’re building a business, you have to speak up for yourself. You have to let people in on your world especially in today’s society. That’s how you find your customer. No one will know you if you go unheard. I’m still getting comfortable with being open about talking to people about my process and my product. We creatives tend to hide behind the work because it’s already an extension of our inner selves so we think what more do you want from us!? You have to have pride in what you’re doing and you have to believe that others will too.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Honestly, I think everyday I choose resilience. Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. You have to be intentional with every decision. Im deciding to show up even when I’m not sure if I’m actually making enough progress. When I relaunched my brand last year, it was after losing in a fashion competition. It was a great experience but It devastated me. I thought that was my moment. I learned that the reason I lost was because the luxury fashion market is hard to break into. That fueled me! I don’t disagree that it isn’t but I’ve never taken easy routes. I know that my work is wonderful and there’s so much value in it. It’s worth the pursuit. Now that I’ve relaunched, it’s proving itself to be hard but I believe in myself more than doubts. I signed up for this journey with optimism. I don’t get to doubt the path I chose.

Contact Info:

• Website: Lavelleadorr.com
• Instagram: Lavelleadorr
• Linkedin: Adorr Reynolds
• Other: Tiktok: Lavelleadorr

Image Credits
Tatyanna Chamere
Scrill Davis
James Bristol