How Sally LaPointe's All-Black Uniform Powers Her Chromatic Universe

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You wouldn't guess by looking at designer Sally LaPointe that she has one of the most colorful and vibrant brands on the New York Fashion Week calendar. Season after season, she puts on a chromatically-ordered runway show for her eponymous label that's a stark contrast to the designer's preferred all-black uniform. But, 15 years in, LaPointe has made peace with that.

"My clothing is my art; my clothing is my painting," she tells me a few days before her New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2025 show, which marks the brand's anniversary.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, LaPointe trained as a fine artist in her childhood and later developed a knack for fashion. Her debut show at New York Fashion Week in September 2010 went so well that Lady Gaga pulled a look from it hours after it had been on the runway. "That was when she was just coming out and that kind of set it off," LaPointe remembers. Since then, the parade of celebs that have worn LaPointe ranges from Adele and Jennifer Lopez to Beyoncé and Doja Cat. Last season, instead of a fashion show, LaPointe released a lookbook featuring her spring 2025 collection, modeled by none other than Oprah Winfrey.

What attracts such a vast and varied group of women to LaPointe is the brand's ability to put forth a statement and make it seem effortless. Wearing her bias-cut gowns or sheer bodysuits may seem like risky business, but her approach to design transforms an otherwise stuffy bodycon dress into a garment that feels more like dressed-up pajamas. It's a skill she credits to the simple fact that she is a woman making clothes for other women. "I have an advantage because I am a woman and I know what it feels like to be a woman," she says. "I understand what it's like to dress curves and what it feels like in the dressing room, and so a huge part for me is the ease of the clothing."

While LaPointe may dress in all-black, don't mistake a uniform for lack of style. Her signature long dark hair and sleeved bodysuits make her a quintessential downtown New York woman (to say nothing of the fact that she works and lives there). And she can flex a look—a LaPointe, of course—when she has to: "I do still keep some of the loud pieces when needed."

On the eve of her company's 15th anniversary, LaPointe spoke with InStyle about her design perspective, uniform dressing, and the next step for her label.

On the Early Days of LaPointe

I started the company with my best friend—and now my business partner. I always knew I had something to say, and she just had an unbelievable way of taking that and making it come to reality. My whole brand has just been from the beginning [about] empowerment and being authentic to yourself and believing in the power of you. Even though the brand has evolved over the years, truly that was the original mission that we still hold today.

On Her Celebrity Clientele

It's really about the wearer's state of mind and how she feels. And that's the way I've been able to get this crazy range between politicians to musicians, from younger to more mature. It almost doesn't matter who you are, or what you are. It was our first show 15 years ago—I'll never forget it, waking up the next morning and [someone said,] "Gaga is pulling the dress from your runway," and she was the first [celebrity]. And every celebrity that's come to us, I can say they come because they want to wear it. It's not like we are contracting these people or anything, and again that goes back to the mission of just focusing on the product.

On Her Personal Aesthetic

I think back to my foundation. I was classically trained as a fine artist in oil painting by the age of 6 or 7. My hero growing up was Claude Monet. I wear all-black because my clothing [I design] is my art, my clothing is my painting, my clothing is my expression. I'm Claude Monet in his hat and suit that he wore every day.

My bodysuit—I literally have, like, 10 of them. And my matte crepe pants. Again, because I just need to be in a uniform day to day. But then I do have some shocking standout pieces. I keep all of our beautiful furs and our statement coats. I'll go out in a bright green dress to an event, and it's like, "Oh my god," but everyday is kind of simple black or more basic pieces.

On LaPointe's New York DNA

It's funny; someone asked the other day if I ever wanted to show in Paris. The brand is so iconic and synonymous with that downtown energy of New York, and we're just owning that. I live a couple blocks from my studio. We've been here for so long, and it kind of has just seeped into the brand. I do a lot of shooting right outside of our studio. We also manufacture about 80 or 90 percent in New York, which is rare.

On the LaPointe Bride

We started noticing that people were wearing our cream [pieces] for bridal. It was really just natural, and it just did really well. I think it's the idea of being outside of the traditional bridal, what you "should do" or "what your mother-in-law or mother wants you to do." I think it goes very well with the energy of our brand.

On the Next 15 Years

We've done such an emphasis on the product as a ready-to-wear collection. I would love to, now that that is in stone, start to expand. I want to think about what feels right to our brand and what that is exactly, I'm not sure yet. But expanding and becoming a more global household name. And expanding into other products that could excite the customer in a different way.

Read the original article on InStyle