Tamara Ralph
Tamara Ralph is the fourth generation of her family to work in couture and fashion design. Raised in Sydney, she began designing at twelve under the guidance of her mother and grandmother, and went on to study fashion design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney. In 2005 she moved to London to break into the international fashion industry.
Tamara co-founded Ralph & Russo in 2006. The label grew into a multi-million dollar couture house, dressing royalty, high society and music and film icons, including Angelina Jolie, Rihanna and Bella Hadid. Beyoncé wore one of its gowns, set with 20,000 Swarovski crystals, to perform for Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House (that one and not our campus) in 2010. In 2013 Tamara and Russo were named on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list.
In 2014 Tamara became the first creative director from the UK in nearly a century invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, and one of only three female creative directors on the schedule. Her work earned the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2016 Walpole British Luxury Awards, and Excellence in Craftsmanship and Outstanding Achievement at the 2019 Luxury Briefing Awards. In 2017 Meghan Markle chose the house to dress her for the official royal engagement portrait with Prince Harry.
After leaving Ralph & Russo in 2021, Tamara returned to couture under her own name. Her self-funded label, with Tamara as both CEO and creative director, debuted at Paris Couture Week in 2023. Lily James, Penelope Cruz, Halle Berry and Kate Hudson had already worn it to the Oscars, the Met Gala and the Cannes Film Festival.
Today the Tamara Ralph Maison sits in Paris's 8th arrondissement, home to one-of-a-kind haute couture, bridal and accessories. The brand has since expanded into interiors and collaborations with Daum, Audemars Piguet and T Henri. Tamara shows every season in Paris. She unveiled her origami-inspired Spring-Summer 2026 collection at the Pavillon Cambon. Her Fall 2026 couture collection drew on South Asian elegance through elongated lines, sheer draping, hand-embroidered lace and diamond baguette embellishment.
In 2026 her couture has taken the world's biggest red carpets. At the July London premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Zendaya wore an ivory Fall 2026 gown traced with gold baguette embellishment, while Florence Pugh wore a silver bugle-bead fringe gown from the Spring 2026 collection. In September, Taylor Swift chose Tamara Ralph for the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. She wore a Fall 2026 couture gown with a velvet halter-neck bodice and a silver crystal-mesh draped skirt on the night she became the most-awarded artist in VMA history.
