Fashion Forward with Designer Audra Noyes Herndon

fashion brand. Audra, many of you may have shopped for showroom on Clayton Road in Ladou, but for those of you who are hearing her name for the first time. Today's your lucky day. But before we get to our conversation with Audra and when I introduce you to someone else in the studio today, my intern Savannah Whittle. Hi, Savannah. Hi, Savannah is a senior at M IC DS and she's spending her winter term working with me. She's been such a huge help. Savannah.

What's been your favorite part of working at Saint Louis magazine? Well,

of the country's leading fashion manufacturing cities. And so so the organization is really working to bring that back to our community. The fashion fun incidentally is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year and to celebrate it's hosting a series of fashion events. So if you want to get to know more about the fashion, fun and the creative scene that is so strong and vibrant in Saint Louis, these would be great opportunities for you to get out there and get to know a little

bit more about what's going on this month. The Fashion fund is hosting the Gent Menswear designer showcase at City Park on February 18th and the Collective Threads annual fashion show fundraiser at 21 C Hotel is being held on February 29th. I'll be sure to share links to these events and more in our show notes, we'll be right back whether you want a new kitchen, laundry room or children's nursery, carpet, kitchen and bath can handle it all from design and

construction to interiors. Carb serves as a one stop shop for all the essentials needed to create spaces that are hashtag nothing ordinary for those seeking to renovate or build, schedule a free design consultation today by visiting carbi.com/project dash consultation. So now without further ado, let's get to our interview with Audra. Hi Audra. It's great to see you again too. Thanks for having me. I not only love your clothes but I'm actually wearing a pair of your front vent

trousers today. Appreciate that. I'm peeking under the table, the green wool trousers, which fits so beautifully. So, thank you. Thank you for that. Um I want to start at the beginning. Um Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into fashion. It's definitely been a gradual journey. I did not anticipate having a career in fashion when I was younger, though many, many believe that I did. Um I actually went to Savannah College of Art and Design with the intention

of going into art therapy. And um I think through that through my freshman year, actually, it was my sister who nudged me to take intro to fashion. And at the same time simultaneously, I was exposed to the um you know, opportunity to apply for an internship at Ralph Lauren with their children's wear department. And that really was a pivotal moment for me. Um It was during that time at that internship, that kind of everything fell into place.

I had great mentors. Um Just two women that I worked directly with that, that led that children's wear division that really exposed me to the various jobs within the industry. And really, that's when I decided to pursue a degree in fashion. I kind of never looked back. Um So I spent actually three summers at Ralph Lauren working my way up through um to the collection um team.

And then also in my senior year, I was mentored and in, in school kind of internship with Zach Posen and through those like subsequent mentorships that really laid the opportunity for me to then be personally recommended by Andre Leon Talley, who recently passed away um to go work in

Paris. And that also seemed like a dream, but I was able to garner some unique training and kind of a condensed couple years working at lamp under Albert and then at John Galliano and then ultimately launching my namesake brand during Paris Fashion Week, spring summer 2014 when I was 24. Um So it really, you know, was a culmination of, of kind of many opportunities that I was fortunate to have and be exposed to that led to it. How did you meet Andre Leon Tli? I'm just curious. Yeah.

And it's fun because it actually came full circle then to ST Louis when he was here. But he was a supporter of SCAD. He was on the board of trustees and every year um came to the fashion show, he had took note of my collection, which was featured in the show and asked to meet with me and um really helped open those doors for me in Paris. And I applied for several internships And I like to share with students that I didn't get

the internship right away at LA. I actually had to redo my portfolio redo a lot of work and reapplied and finally did then get the, they call it a ST I almost like an apprenticeship in Paris. And then I spent the next 4.5 years there. Incredible. Do you speak French? I do. But it's so rusty. I picked it up. I said when I first, my first day in Paris, I ran into Albert at the elevator and I spoke no French and I was so nervous. So from then on, I tried to learn as much as

I could. And by the end of my time, there was, was, was, you know, fluent in French. Um But don't get much time to practice it here in ST Louis, right? No, I know my Children at one point were taking classes at the Alliance. That was nice. Maybe I need to go there. The possibility to say I know you're a busy woman.

So what ultimately brought you to Saint Louis? Yeah, in 2017, so about three years into my business, I made the strategic decision to move my operations from New York at that time to ST Louis to join um the fashion funds inaugural class incubator. And then following that in 2019, I was really honored to receive the arts grant. And I think through, through those, I mean, the decision, you know, to, to plant my headquarters here

in ST Louis. And honestly, it was such a leap of faith, coming to the Midwest people were, you know, shocked and I was as well. But honestly, it it has been such a supportive customer base and there is such an engaging and dynamic entrepreneurial environment and as well, I really inspired by like the vibrant manufacturing history here in ST Louis. And that's honestly fueled our growth being here for those who aren't familiar with the Audra shopping experience.

Can you walk us through a little bit of that process? So our, our um atelier in LAO is a multi purpose space. So it serves as our headquarters for the brand's business and design operations, but it also hosts our retail showroom. Um So that means we're open weekdays and Saturdays to shop, we also do by appointment. Um And you're able, you know, when you come in, you're able to peel back the design curtain a little bit and step into our process.

Um it's similar to how I worked at Long V, you know, we were upstairs on the 3rd and 4th floor, designing and creating and then we'd go down to the store to do the windows on the first floor. And so we don't have a vertical model, but we have a horizontal model right here in S Lewis. And I think it's, it's unique in the sense that sure you get to shop our newest arrivals. You also have the opportunity to do, made to measure and custom offerings with me and my team directly. We also

do that in house tailoring to you. I also just wanna stress the advantages of women being able to talk with the designer and work with you on a bespoke garment if that's indeed, you know, what they want to do or have the opportunity to have their clothes tailored and fitted to their bodies. What a terrific um advantage that is for women. Can you talk a little bit about who your competitors are

and how your work stands out? Yeah, of course. I mean, obviously, you know, the fashion industry is quite large and I think through the years, I've worked to identify what sets my brand apart in terms of our product, our marketing, our voice and how we sell. Um I would say that our customers also shop at Aris Cuccinelli, the re as well as some more emerging American based brands like Co or Adam Lippy's and the feedback I've received is that our customer chooses Audra because our clothing, it

brings out the best in them. They say it's empowering and it's also really easy to wear. They feel comfortable that we deliver a product that is of the highest quality, you know, using Italian and European fabrics, making all everything in New York City, in the garment district, but at an approachable designer price point. So what that means is we're less than our competitors significantly utilizing some

of the same mills, the same factories. And I think, you know, because of our marketing efforts and the way I try my best to enable and empower our team is that we're really rooted in our relationship with our customer. So we invite them to be part of the process through the Abil, but also through um those one on one relationships, through our emails, through our, our marketing efforts. And I would

say finally, obviously it's a designer brand. So, you know, through the years, I've shaped, you know, my aesthetic to, to yield a very distinguishable design voice and that's, you know, rooted in a conversation between me and my late father

who passed away when I was younger. So you see a drawing from menswear, um those heritage, you know, signature tailoring, um detailing and shirts and, and, and coats and jackets, but it's infusing a feminine voice and certainly through the years that feminine voice has changed, um you can sense you know, a whimsical moments when I was 24 and 26 and, and now, you know, being 35 that there's a little more maturity in that feminine voice, but I think that puts out a product that is

set apart. Um, but it is still very functional in our, in our client's wardrobe for, for a longevity of wear. Absolutely. And in 2019, you made the transition from wholesale to that direct to consumer model that, that you're talking about. Um I'm curious to know who is the Adra customer and what has she taught you through your interactions with her? Going from, you know, a wholesale business to a direct to consumer model was kind of also a second leap

of faith. Uh We had seen significant growth in our direct to consumer online in person through pop ups and trunk shows and really building out a robust client base. And I and I was excited about that. Um But I was also really humbled to be in these top wholesale stores across the country. But ultimately, what drove that decision was how can we best serve our customer and intentionally fill a

gap in the market. And um I saw that through a unique price point opportunity of still wanting to make everything with that same quality fabric from Italy and France. Um still making sustainably and ethically at New York City, female owned factories at limited runs because our customer wants to be unique too and we don't want to waste on our end um product either. Um And we were able to strike that balance with the D to C model and also

allows us to do monthly product releases versus seasonal. So I think really shaking up that kind of older um more standardized fashion model um was exciting to me and I thought, you know, would also um prove itself a good business model for our years in the future. Um Our customer, I would say she's very diverse and dynamic. So I can't really put her in, in one characteristic of, you know, one box, but I would say she's um

she's creative. Um And she's culturally active and she's definitely intelligent and um every customer that I have had the pleasure to interact with has a distinct voice that she expresses through her clothing and I love hearing her feedback. Um her feedback may be on fit, it may be on her lifestyle. And then as I design and as I market that product and, and figure out our sales strategy, I keep that at the forefront of our minds and, and our team does

as well. Um And I think our customer really desires a curated and personalized shopping experience. And like I mentioned before, she values that longevity in her wardrobe. So um I, I try to design always with those, with those many facets in mind. But I would say the real successes for me is when I see multiple customers giving us really positive feedback on a silhouette and then those are silhouettes that stay, stay in the line for many years to come like the pant you're wearing.

And I think that's incredible, right? Because you're hearing from women who are wearing your clothes, they're saying this particular piece just works beautifully in my wardrobe and you're able to act on that and pivot right there and decide to keep it in the collection. So that's, that's really cool. What is it about clothes that is so empowering to women? I mean, we hear people say that all the time, but I'm curious from your point of view,

how do you see that? Certainly, what I've experienced, um is that it is our voice before we have our voice. So for young women and for myself, you know, when I started discovering my own personal style in my teens and through my adult years, it was a, a way of self expression and voice before I kind of had the words for them. I think it's our first impression with someone. Um And I think it's also a protective shell, you know,

when we're in scenarios that are maybe less comfortable. And so I think it's, you know, and I've received that feedback from, from my, my customers and friends and family

as well. It's, you know, it's an empowering piece, meaning it, it's gonna give strength in those moments because I feel like, oh, this suit, you know, really represents who I am and it kind of lifts me up or it protects me, you know, because it's a sense of warmth and comfort because maybe there's a story behind how I purchased this garment or another moment I've worn this garment and I felt really good in or possibly, you know, it attracts someone from across the room to

connect with me because they love that pant I'm wearing or that shirt I'm wearing. And then I'm able to build a relationship that I didn't prior. I love that. You say that because it's actually how I met my best friend when I was 12 years old. I love that. We bonded over a jacket that she was wearing and I saw it from across the room and I went up and I told her and we've been best friends ever since and she's actually the person who introduced me to my husband like 20 years later. So,

um I hear you on that. Um And speaking of personal uh clothes and clothes that tell a story, um I understand that you custom made your wedding gown. Was it last year, last year and several others? Um What was that process like for you? Oh, it was so fun. You know, it had its stressful moments for sure as I think many weddings do. Um But I was so grateful for the opportunity to

do this. Not only because it was like a gift, like a love gift I could share with my family and my friends were in the wedding making dresses for them because they've just been so kind and serving me in different seasons of my life. But it also let me experiment with new processes with my partners and my mills and kind of let their artists in hands shine, which was so fun. Um You know, for example, for my wedding dress, we did an embroidery with one of the lace smells I

work with in Italy. And this embroidery created kind of a busier floral effect on the taffeta. And this was inspired by my mom's wedding dress and flowers that had kind of an emotional meaning to me. Um But then it was hand embroidered in, in, in New York. And so it went through these many stages and many different hands. Um And so the culmination was such a personal story to me personally, but also to my business as well. And it was so

fun getting to know them. I think designing for my mom was probably one of the most challenging, but also the most beautiful because she, you know, graciously paid for our wedding and gifted us this beautiful day. And, you know, figuring out what would make her feel comfortable and beautiful on that day and um ensuring that she would shine the way I wanted her to and that was really special. And then, then we did the little flower girls as well. I worked with another local

fashion designer, Rheta Jane. So, RTA did you know I've worked with Rhetta as a consultant, helped her a little bit launching her brand. So she actually did the patterns and it was my fabric and we were able to do the little flower grills as well. Tell me a little bit about your brick and mortar. Um I know that you opened that in 2020 right before or during the pandemic that must have been challenging

to a certain degree. I'm wondering what some of those challenges were and was there a hidden upside to it? We moved from downtown Saint Louis where we had been for the 1st 2, 2.5 years to le do in September 2020. Certainly an interesting time. We had been looking for a for, for quite some time and then the perfect space really just like came to us. I'm so fortunate when we moved to ST Louis in 2017, we really began to build a very robust community in Saint Louis of

customers of friends. Now, these customers are my friends and they're my supporters and they're my ambassadors. And um they really showed up for us during this, not only this opening but through that pandemic. Um and I think that allowed us to, to really thrive during those couple of years where I know many businesses did not. And I'm so grateful for that I think the Leo opening allowed us to do a personalized service. So we were able to do one on one appointments. We still offer that.

And a lot of our customers really value that one on one time and certainly um create an experience that is unique and elevated to stand and kind of match with the clothing.

And I think the biggest feedback and the biggest surprise is just how well the community embraced that certainly, um you know, a little more unique to this area and um just discovering more customers and having people still come in and discovering us and giving us positive feedback on being part of this community um has, has really been encouraging to me and um I just wanted to know

that you do welcome walk ins. So someone who's, you know, shopping, let's say, um in who do in that particular part of town and seize your store, they're welcome to walk right in. There's no appointment necessary. Yeah, we um I thank you for highlighting that. Yeah, we have so we love to serve our customers in a variety of ways. So you can shop online on our website and that has most of our newest arrivals

and our core styles and best sellers there. Um And certainly, um we, we love people who discover us online as well. And then we have our ready to air line available in, in the ST Louis showroom. Um So all those newest arrivals will be there in person for people to try on and walk away with that day. We also have our made to measure and our custom offering and those

certainly we can do it through walk ins. But if you prefer and want to guarantee that I'm with you during that appointment, then you can also book an appointment with me even off hours and after work as well. Would you ever consider and to other cities? Yeah, I mean that that is ultimately the goal we're continuously growing our digital presence and

kind of national distribution. Um I look at other cities where I can emulate the Saint Louis success, where we already have a presence, that presence might be from a customer base that we've built online or customer base through previous wholesalers. And then we look to engage them with pop ups and trunk shows and eventually, you know, those would be the locations of

our, our next, you know, brick and mortars. You know, I've been working pretty closely with a young high school student, you know, and thinking about younger women and how they build their wardrobes. What advice would you have for them? I know we hear a lot about buying quality over quantity, but I'm curious what, what you would say to a young woman who's looking to

build a wardrobe. I think my best pieces of advice are first purchase your foundational elements and keep those neutral because those are gonna be your investment pieces and they're timeless and they'll go back to all the different trends and colors and prints in your wardrobe. I always encourage young and mature customers to stay true to what they feel best in. If a trend doesn't match who you think you are, then skip it and pass on it. Um I also encourage to tap into trends in, in

little ways and kind of and balance it. Meaning if a particular color is trending, like red is all over, you know, uh the Golden Globes, you know, maybe add it in with a pair of shoes or a scarf or one sweater, but mix that back in with your neutral foundations or vice versa. If a prince in maybe, you know, get that. But in a really classic shirting silhouette, you're balancing those trends with timelessness that you never kind of feeling like

you're too trendy and kind of too fast fashion. Exactly. Exactly. And I know you're celebrating 10 years of the brand this Spring. Anything that you want to share with us about how you might be celebrating or what your next collection might, uh look like. Yeah, I, I can't believe it's been that long. It's, it's really exciting and really humbling that I've been able to do what I love and build this business for 10 years, I think. Spring summer

2024 I'm really excited about. Um, you'll see some specialty pieces um that are drawing from my archive drawing from those 10 years of best sellers and kind of special techniques that will be limited edition. And then um you'll also see me kind of re invent some of those heritage pieces as well and bring new life to them. And I think uh certainly we're going to have a big celebration here in Saint Louis and we hope the

community will come out and celebrate with us. And um you know, this is our home and we're really excited to be here um and some new product releases as well. So new categories and that's always exciting to me as a designer to expand into, you know, to further expand our vegan leather and, and, and we're working into knitwear. And so those are all exciting things coming for the year. Fun can't wait. And now for some rapid fire questions,

what's the most rewarding part of your job? It's easy hearing how my customers feel their best selves in Audra and sometimes even getting photos along with those messages. What aspect of your job do you wish you could outsource to someone else? Easy as well, the finances,

where do you turn or what do you do? Uh When you need creative inspiration, typically this is a long quiet walk or sitting in my garden and reflecting inward um on an emotional journey or a season of transformation and then figuring out how to marry that with customer feedback. What's your favorite fashion magazine? Purple, purple magazine. What is the most important lesson that you learned from your time working at Longwan

at Long V? I feel Albert really taught me how to be intentional design for women of different ages and different shapes, whether that's through the cuts or the way the fabric drapes or the details to ensure it can you know, really dress an array of women. What artist or designer inspires you the most, Misha Prada and Donna Karan. What is the most out there bespoke item that you've designed for a client? Thankfully, I have not had any too crazy bespoke um

project requests. I would say my my most outlandish would be dressing, you know, celebrities for the red carpet and are kind of, you know, for me, the biggest moment was when Kim Kardashian wore our dress, you know, and that was in 2017, incredible moment. I'm sure. Um if someone were to buy just one item from Audra, what would it be? It would be our best selling pant, which is the pin tuck crop trouser in black. I actually need that pant,

by the way, that's a thought at the showroom. I told Savannah what well known model most accurately represents the ultra brand. Um I had to think about this one because there's so many I like, but I think it would be Saskia do, bro. If you could choose one woman in Saint Louis to dress, who would it be? You know, I, I feel like I already dressed her and there are so many of her.

I have such a wide array of customers and they're very, like I said previously, they're very diverse and I think they're remarkable and I'm really humbled that I get to dress them. And how do you spend a perfect weekend evening in Saint Louis? And what would you wear? Well, certainly it wouldn't be this month in the cold, but it would be dinner on my backyard patio with fresh veggies from my garden. And I'd probably be wearing one of my favorite dresses, which is, which is from

my spring summer 2020 collection. It's the Patrick Prairie dress. Thank you so much, Audra. Thank you. And now it's time for these views. On a more personal note, I recently returned from a trip to Bogota Colombia. The capital sits at nearly 9000 ft above sea level and it's surrounded by the Majestic Andean Mountains. So as you can imagine, nature is part of everyday life there. And so much of the local creative scene takes its inspiration from the environment.

Now, I'm a fairly eco minded person, but spending time in South America made me double down on my commitment to not only spend more time in nature but learn about the environment. I'm starting by resurrecting a former tradition of mine of buying a weekly bouquet of flowers for the house. I don't know what it is about having fresh flowers in my living room, but it just adds something to my everyday and hopefully makes our lives just a little bit better.

I used to do this more regularly. Uh, I don't know, maybe five years ago, but I stopped for whatever reason I would visit a new floral shop every week and give myself a budget to buy whatever looked the most beautiful to me at the time. I'll be sure to post a few of my favorite local flower shops in the show notes because I know that there's a special holiday coming up soon later this month. I'm also taking an afternoon to visit the orchid show at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The annual

event is here until February 25th. And if you love flowers as I do, this is something that you won't want to miss. It's our chance to see hundreds of varieties of orchids on display. And speaking of flowers, Joanne Lee is this year featured speaker at ST Louis Art Museums, art and bloom. Beginning the weekend of March 1st, Joanne is the founder and artistic director of a P bio floral design and photography studio in New York City.

She's been commissioned to work on campaigns for companies such as Sephora com C and of course, she's been hired to do the flowers for weddings and events around the world. I can't wait to hear her talk about her practice and demonstrate her creative process leading up to art and bloom. The museum is offering drop in tours on Friday and Saturdays called Flower Power. Attendees get to explore the museum galleries and learn about how we experience floral motifs through art. I can't wait to go.

Thank you for listening to the House of Lu podcast. Our episodes drop on the first Wednesday of every month. Be sure to follow us and share the episode with your friends. Be in touch. Subscribe to our design and home newsletter at STL mag.com/newsletters and follow us at ST Louis mag on Instagram and you can follow me at ZT look book. We'll see you next time and just remember there's so much to see in Saint Louis if you know where to look.