The achievements didn’t stop there: the brand went on dressing celebrities, from Angelina Jolie to Beyoncé to the Duchess of Sussex for her engagement photos and other royals from Europe and the Middle East.

To Ralph, the beauty of couture is that it’s such a personal, bespoke service. “You’re not limited to creating what you put on the runway; you’re working closely with all these incredible clients that are from different countries and from different cultures,” she says. “It is a mixture of probably about 50 per cent from the elements of the runway, or iterations of a runway piece, and the other 50 per cent are completely private collections that nobody has ever seen.”

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Last time I spoke to Ralph was in early 2020, when Ralph & Russo celebrated its 10th anniversary with a beautiful collection of elevated versions of its past signature and highly recognisable designs—innately feminine and elegant. But, given how dependent the industry is on festive occasions and glamorous red-carpet events, the pandemic rewrote the ending of that particularly fairy tale: less than a year after we spoke, the company eventually went into administration and the duo parted ways.

“Designing is in my blood; it’s not something that I was doing for a job, it was something I was doing because it was a passion of mine and I think that I would never feel whole if I wasn’t creating,” Ralph tells Tatler. She took a two-year break, moved to Monte Carlo and welcomed her daughter with her partner, Indian billionaire Bhanu Choudhrie: “It was a time that I reflected, [but] I was still creating during that time. I was creating for a different purpose and the next part of my chapter as well. It’s something that I never thought twice that I would not go back and do.” We now know that that next chapter is completely on her own terms.

“One thing that was really nice was to have so many loyal clients and followers of my work globally; that also kind of pushed me to relaunch. I was getting calls from all different clients from all around the world, begging me to start again, because they ‘didn’t have anything to wear’,” Ralph says. Even before the official brand launch, the likes of Fan Bingbing, Naomi Campbell and Penélope Cruz turned heads on global red carpets in their 70 customised Tamara Ralph creations.

“It’s been [a blessing] and very motivational to have so many people that really appreciate my work ... then having my daughter through this time was also motivation in itself. It gives you an inner strength—being a mother—that you never knew you had.”

Due to popular demand, Ralph debuted the Tamara Ralph collection in July 2023 for the autumn-winter 2023 season. Models in elaborate rosette- and crystal-adorned gowns and tweed suits embellished with feathers and pearls walked down the runway against the ornate decor of the Shangri-La Paris. “The basis of the collection drew on some of these struggles and moments that
I had been through in the previous years. My work has always been innately feminine, and I wanted to show a stronger side of myself that had been shaped through these experiences,” she says.

Recurring and signature feminine elements such as roses are made tougher by casting them in materials like metal, while pearl- encrusted, armour-like structures add toughness to otherwise delicate dresses. “It was really celebrating a strength in femininity ... the elements that I’m quite well known for in my work, the elegance, the sophistication, the modernity, the usefulness, the femininity, but making it cleaner, newer, stronger, harder and just more unapologetic.”

The notion of strength continues in her spring-summer 2024 couture collection, recently presented in Paris. Consisting of 28 looks, from voluminous gowns embellished with ostrich feathers to satin dresses featuring crystal-encrusted cages, the collection is a joy to behold. “It is designed to stand the test of time, while also serving as a reminder of how invaluable the notion of time truly is,” the designer explains. “[It’s] breathing life into designs [that are] crafted to endure the relentless passage of time.” The sophisticated elegance achieved through intricate savoir- faire, amplified by the beautiful juxtaposition of rich textiles with jewel-like adornments, is solid proof of the years that Ralph has spent as a couturier.

The grand return also marks a full reunion of working with her atelier craftsmen, some of whom Ralph has worked with for over a decade. “To all be back together, like a family, has been really amazing for me and for them,” says the designer, who, at the time of our interview, was five months pregnant with her second child, another girl. “To have had my daughter through this time: she’s been incredibly inspiring for me, and the fact that she loves what I do. She’s almost become my little protégé, which is really lovely.”

A second child isn’t the designer’s only new adventure: her brand has partnered with Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet on a limited- edition Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon timepiece. “They’re an incredible house that encapsulates everything that I stand for, and as a brand as well,” Ralph tells me, the excitement palpable in her voice. “And I think that synergy is two brands coming together that really celebrate craftsmanship.”

And while she was initially concerned about the project, she soon found her stride. “I was thinking ‘Oh my gosh, how am I going to create a watch?’ Then when I sat down and actually started creating, I thought about the same process I would [follow to] create any other piece of fashion: I look at it as a work of art on its own. I actually could not stop sketching once I started because I was so inspired by the project.”

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The signature octagonal bezel of the Royal Oak Concept is dressed up with Ralph’s signature elements of bold femininity and modernity, in a frosted gold shade, which gives a matt, textured shimmer. “My shades of nudes, cognacs, champagnes and golds—which I find is a palette that is incredibly feminine—was the basis of my creativity,” she says.

The interior features concentric layers of bronze- hued discs, while the watch’s beating heart is sprinkled with tiny diamond spheres, and 18-carat pink-gold hour and minute hands. “[Audemars Piguet are] very much known for their mixing of textures, so that really comes through in the piece as well. The rich materials, the colour palette, the master craftsmanship— they’re all combined and inspired by haute couture.”

Ralph is currently focusing on her couture line, with a long-term goal of building a lifestyle brand. “It’s a lifestyle offering where I’m building a world of my work. And that’s why to be able to work with incredible brands and build on other categories that I haven’t before is very important for me and the future of the house,” she says.

That Ralph has carved out a career focusing on bespoke and couture is remarkable. There is only a very small coterie of female designers leading the creative direction of prestigious couture maisons (only three during her Ralph & Russo time; perhaps as many as 11 now, including Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior and Chanel’s Virginie Viard), let alone who have successfully founded one.

“I think there should be more female-led couture houses; I think that women designing for women is an incredible thing,” Ralph says. “I had so many blessed opportunities to work with incredible women, some of the most influential women around the world ... designing pieces for the events that are pinnacles of their own lives. To share in those moments, in these incredible stories of history and of these women’s lives, is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”

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