IN CONVERSATION WITH TAMARA RALPH

interview by JANA LETONJA

With her Spring–Summer 2026 Couture collection, Tamara Ralph returns to Paris with a confident, poetic statement that reflects both creative evolution and unwavering craftsmanship. Unveiled at the Pavillon Cambon, the collection, titled La Lumière Dorée, marks a pivotal chapter in the Tamara’s journey since launching her eponymous house, fusing architectural precision with ethereal beauty. Drawing on delicate Asian influences, sculptural origami-like forms, and luminous materials that refract light across the body, she presents couture as an exercise in quiet power and modern elegance. The collection reaffirms her distinct design codes while pushing them forward with new techniques, symbolic metalwork, and a refined interplay between strength and softness, cementing her vision of femininity as assured, luminous, and enduring.

all images courtesy of TAMARA RALPH

You’ve described this collection as a reflection of how far you’ve come creatively. What feels most evolved in your work today?

I think as a creative, it's always important to keep evolving. And I think what inspires you or what impacts your life kind of shapes what you create, and your life is constantly changing. You're constantly inspired by different things and so it's always an evolution, which is lovely. But I've always been so inspired by Asia as a region, and I didn't want to have a collection that felt like an interpretation or like a costume or something that was an obvious reflection. It was more just like an appreciation of Asia and touches of East meets West. It's a region that I visit regularly, every year, different parts of Asia. And so I wanted to kind of bring in those Asian influences. Evolving as a creative, things that inspire me are not just travels or things like that, but life experiences as well. And that evolution and that constant change is always something that keeps me going.

How did you approach balancing your established design codes with the desire to push into new territory this season?

I think it's always celebrating the house codes and what the brand stands for. You know, We have a very strong sense of femininity, celebrating the female form, celebrating women. And that's something that is a thread throughout all my work, having these gorgeous beautifully crafted pieces and pieces that really make women feel beautiful and look beautiful. Really celebrating that femininity is something that will always be true to me because I'm a female designing for females. I get inspired by the women I create for, and they're really my muses. It's not like I have a muse that I constantly look to, the women I create for are so inspiring in themselves. They're incredibly accomplished women that have really made a mark on the world and they inspire me. That celebration of women is something that is always part of my aesthetic.

Something everyone tells me is that I have these pieces that feel so fresh and youthful and beautiful, but are so elegant and so chic at the same time. And have this really kind of timeless elegance to them. And then, I love playing with different materials and I worked with Mother of Pearl for the first time last season. I really loved pushing that further and doing even more this season, and bringing in other elements to really kind of bring the embellishments and the pieces to life and having these amazing structures, that kind of fuses hard and soft at the same time, and strong and feminine. I think you can have that as a woman.You can be strong, but you can be feminine, and it’s nice to emphasize that.

Light plays a central role in the collection. How do you translate something so intangible into couture craftsmanship?

I think through the fluidity of the fabrics, through the color palette. There's a lot of beautiful ivory tones, a lot of gold, metallics, this beautiful kind of soft blush pink, so it's more playing on that. White and ivory palette is some of my favorite colors actually, so I love having that lightness in the collection as well. And that's brought in through different ways. It was actually the first time we had launched sunglasses, which was really a beautiful way of also kind of playing on that light story.

The origami-inspired silhouettes feel both architectural and fluid. What drew you to this disciplined geometry?

For me, I love the beauty of the detailing of origami. In Asia, you see it throughout, whether it's elements of like kimono folding or origami or elements like this. And I love to bring it into clothing in a subtle way, with the coats and the collars and the beautiful kind of origami star dress. And there was just a beautiful kind of very structural element, but done in a very subtle way, which is lovely.

Peacock feathers emerge as a recurring symbol. What do they represent to you in the context of femininity and power?

Well, peacocks are a symbol of luck. They're a symbol of good fortune. They're a symbol of beauty. They're a symbol of elegance. And that was quite embodying of the story this season. I have been to many countries, but the most countries I see peacock are in Asia. It's an animal that is really celebrated in Asia and really seen as a symbol of ultimate beauty. I love how they kind of have these two sides to them where they're very elegant and streamlined, and then there's like a show as well.

White crocodile, mint satin, mother of pearl, how do you choose materials that feel both strong and sensual?

It's always a process with the creativity. Straight away after one collection finishes, you go into the next. It is still like a full six months from start to finish, so the idea of the next collection, I get about halfway through the one previously. I have it in my mind, about what am I going to do next season, but I actually don't have any time to start it until one show finishes. It's a big evolution. And there's probably about 150 sketches that I do just to get to the final selection. And then those, I sometimes change the color or change the detailing several times before I get to a palette that I'm happy with or something that flows.

Some of them I sketch and it's as is, and I change nothing, and some change 10 times before they get to the final look. But, I wanted something that kind of had elements of strength, but elements of softness, which I feel Asian women have that embodiment. They have an element of strength, and then they have an element of softness and sensuality. It's the color palette that I felt was bringing the emotion of Asia through.

Couture is rooted in tradition, yet your work feels distinctly contemporary. How do you keep that tension alive?

Celebrating the tradition of Couture is amazing, that it's alive and continues to be celebrated. And I think that comes really down to the techniques and the processes, and keeping the tradition through that. It's a handcrafted product, it's not something that can be digitally designed. It should remain true to craft. Every piece is handmade by skilled artisans that are the top in the world, and they have worked their whole life creating these pieces. Even to find the artisans that can actually do that is also very difficult, so we really celebrate our tailors and our couture. We have quite a range, from in-house embroider, to younger in training, to petria that have been working with me for over a decade, but in the industry for their entire life.

The embroidery is still done by hand. There's no machine embroidery, and all of the hardware, all of pearls all done by hand. It's important to keep these traditions because couture is really about the highest possible quality and the most innovative creativity. So it's fusing that, but having it for for a modern clientele. It's the design that kind of feels modern, but it's made traditionally and obviously the service level is all about personal touch. The client wants that personal attention and wants that exclusivity, wants that personal touch where people go to them, travel to them. All of this personal service side of things is also part of Couture. And so that I think is important to keep alive as well, because that's essentially what true luxury is about. It’s not only the product, but it's also the service side and how you walk away feeling from dealing with a particular house or buying a particular product.

What does modern elegance mean to you in 2026?

I think elegance, whether it's modern or not, for me, it's chic. It's about expressing your personality. And I think that my clothes come across as really strong pieces, but very elegant as well. They make an entrance, but they're very elegant. Even if they're not completely covered, they're very elegant still. I think that balance is difficult to achieve. And that's something I always try to achieve. You know, it can be sexy, but it needs to be elegant.

This show also marked your first collaboration with T HENRI. What excited you about translating couture codes into eyewear?

I've always been interested in eyewear and as a brand, branching out into lifestyle products, the extension for us needs to be authentic and needs to make sense and be very much in line with the brand and what we stand for, which is beautifully crafted pieces, exceptional design. For me, being a client of T HENRI myself, I loved the handcrafted elements all made in Japan. The craftsmanship and the materials used are the best of the best. They're made with titanium, so they're very light. 

They come in two options. One is a Diamond Parve set, which were seen on the catwalk. The craftsmanship is absolutely incredible and they're all handmade. They're limited edition. They're very feminine and unique, and actually they've been very much popular for men as well, so there's kind of a unisex element to it. There was one that wasn't on the runway, but is part of the collection, that has the yellow lens with a black frame, which is a very interesting color combination, very strong, but so chic as well, and very subtle. I think that the color palette of the collection pieces were really lovely. It's nice to kind of extend what we stand for as a brand into a product category.

What emotions do you hope a woman feels when she steps into a piece from La Lumière Dorée?

Like she is the light in the room.

Looking ahead, how do you see the next chapter of Tamara Ralph couture unfolding?

We have some new projects now that we're actually working on. It's different categories that I've never created in before, which is really exciting. And it's always good to kind of push yourself as a creative and do something new. And then obviously, we continue to innovate and push ourselves on the Couture side as well. It's really about now taking the brand into not just Couture, but other product categories that make sense, but in a really kind of exclusive way and manner.