Every Celebrity Wants A Custom Kelsey Randall Look

One week. That’s the average time it takes for namesake designer Kelsey Randall to turn around a custom look for a celebrity. “Two weeks if I’m lucky,” she says on a recent call with TZR. According to Randall, the speedy process typically begins with a frantic email from a stylist. After discussing and agreeing upon the overall vision for the piece, she’ll put together a sketch. Once approved by the celeb’s team, which typically happens that same day, Randall says it’s “off to the races.” Stressful? You could say that. But for the New York-based designer, it’s just how she operates. And if her impressive clientele is any indication, she’s good at what she does — to put it lightly.

For instance, it’s been nearly a year since Randall started designing pieces for Suki Waterhouse. “I love working with Suki because her style is also unabashedly femme, but she also loves a ‘70s rocker vibe,” says the designer. For Waterhouse’s new documentary, Sparklemuffin Tour, Randall created a custom crystal chainmail top for the singer. “When I stan the artist’s music, it helps make the collaboration magical,” Randall adds, noting she was a fan of Waterhouse before her team inquired about custom looks.

It’s not just the Daisy Jones and The Six star she’s collaborating with these days. In 2024 alone, Randall, who is celebrating her brand’s 10th anniversary this year, made looks for Julia Fox, Lil Nas X, Kesha, Millie Bobby Brown, and Saweetie, among others. And it makes sense why celebrities have taken a liking to Randall’s confections, as they’re unlike anything you’ll find hanging on a rack. “They’re a little cheeky and against the grain,” Randall says about her handmade styles. For her collections (no, not all her pieces are custom), she frequently turns to chainmail and rhinestones, as she says there’s a high demand for that glitzy, glamorous aesthetic.

Randall adds that there are always a few themes present in her lines: Marie Antoinette, ‘70s Mick Jagger, and Western. However, she’s constantly seeking fresh inspiration, too. “I always have a million Pinterest tabs open,” she confesses. Always snapping photos on her phone, the Atlanta native uses imagery as a creative tool. “I go to a lot of museums. When I’m traveling, my wife will laugh because I'll be like, ‘Cool, we’re going to five museums today.’” Then, when she’s dreaming up new designs, Randall browses through her assortment of visuals.

Though running an independent brand is no easy feat, especially in the current state of the world (Randall has addressed how the tariffs are affecting her small label), it’s something she always dreamed of. “In fourth grade, I stopped saying I wanted to be president and started saying I was going to be a fashion designer,” Randall jokes over our recent call. Like most style-curious kids, she recalls marveling over imagery in Vogue magazines (after begging her mom to get her said magazines at checkout lines). And when reading that Parsons was the best fashion school in Teen Vogue, she decided to pursue a degree at the renowned New York college.

‌Amid her studies, Randall interned at Bill Blass, working under the tutelage of Prabal Gurung, before the eponymous designer debuted his beloved label in 2009. “He was so supportive and nice, and he let me come in as many days as I wanted,” Randall says about Gurung. “In the summer, I would be there five days a week, sometimes on the weekends.” As her mentor, the designer always reminded Randall that anyone could succeed in the industry if they worked hard and truly wanted it — which, clearly, she did.

However, when she finally finished at Parsons, ready to start a new chapter working at a fashion company in an entry-level role, the economy had other plans. “I graduated in 2009 during the recession,” Randall says. “I remember Prabal being like, ‘Yeah, I would love for you to work for me, but I can’t pay you.’” Because there were no entry-level design positions at the time, she decided to work retail at Lilith, a now-shuttered French womenswear company. Behind the scenes, Randall was learning about fabrics and seeing how the brand’s pieces were made. “At night, I would go to my studio and work on my pattern-making and design skills,” says Randall.

After honing her craft, she launched her brand in 2015. “I ended up doing my own line partly out of necessity,” Randall notes, referring to the economic downturn and lack of fashion positions at the time. Since the label’s inception, the she has skipped the middle man, instead doing direct-to-consumer to avoid dropping her prices, which she says stores would have likely required her to do. “The wholesale model is broken, and you can’t build a future on that,” she explains.

When she was starting out a decade ago, Randall believed that for a young creative like herself to make it in the fashion world, designing evergreen, seasonless styles was the way to go, as the future in fashion would be less about consumption. And she hit the nail right on the head, seeing as many individuals today prioritize made-to-last looks over fast fashion. As such, the designer focuses on one collection per year instead of churning out multiple lines. “I’m making styles based on my creative vision,” she says, noting how she doesn’t follow any type of strict calendar. 

Ten years in, Randall says there hasn’t necessarily been a big break for her brand. “It’s been a slow little march towards building my client base.” However, her customers are especially loyal and confident in their purchases. “My regular clients come to me because they know they’ll be the center of attention when they wear my looks,” explains Randall. On that note, shop a selection of Randall’s latest creations — you’ll surely steal the spotlight wherever you go.