A TRUE STORY

THE HUSTLE

Every brand has an origin story. Ours began with one bold lie.

After years of visiting countless boutiques in attempts to be picked up as a new brand, designer Larissa Muehleder stepped into 3NY on Broome Street in SoHo, where a lie would change her life forever.

As the eager 20-year-old displayed her array of polka dot silk tops to an unimpressed store owner, she began to question her talents until the owner asked about the dress she had on.

"What is this? Did you make this? I would buy this!" he said in an Eastern European accent.

Larissa looked down at her dress, quickly assessed the situation, and confidently responded, "Yes! How many would you like?"

She then rushed out with an order in hand to figure out how she was going to design the dress that was, in fact, by Zara.

The dress was made of a stiff fabric featuring a floral brocade. Although it held an amazing shape, the fabric had no stretch and was so tight around her rib cage that she could barely breathe when seated.

She thought, "How can I make this the same, but better?"

In the forgotten back corner of a fabric store in Midtown Manhattan, Larissa found a fabric that was soft like cotton, stretched like nylon, and thick enough to sculpt distinctive silhouettes. The store clerk called it neoprene.

She purchased it in beige and layered it with delicate lace for an A-line dress that was feminine, bold, bright, and the beginning of what would become the Muehleder Neoprene Kelly Dress. Stocked across 30+ boutiques nationwide, becoming the beginning of the brand. 

Here are some never before seen photos of Larissa Muehleder in her first designs and the celebrities she introduced them to.