Laurel DeWitt is an American

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

and artist based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She designs and hand-crafts metal crowns and headdresses, metal apparels,

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...

s and performance pieces. Her custom pieces have been worn by numerous celebrities including

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996), known mononymously as Normani, is an American singer. She first became known as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in t ...

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Latto Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), known professionally as Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Atlanta. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series ''The Rap G ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

and

Khloé Kardashian Khloé Alexandra Kardashian (; born June 27, 1984) is an American media personality and socialite. She rose to fame starring with her family in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021. Its success le ...

Education

DeWitt grew up in New York and graduated from the Brooklyn campus of

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

in 2005.

Fashion career

In her early career, DeWitt worked as a handbag designer in New York for Kenneth Cole Reaction,

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

Juicy Couture Juicy Couture is an American casualwear and dress clothing brand based in Arleta, Los Angeles, California. Best known for their velour tracksuits which became a luxury staple in the 2000s, the company was founded by Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gel ...

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

and

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

. She made her first crown for the Smithsonian Institution of African Arts. Her most notable work was creating the flower crown for Beyonce in

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

’s 2015 music video, Hymn for the Weekend. She used raw metal sheets of aluminum, brass and steel, cut the sheets into flower petals and hand-painted them with a special ink to make the 25 flowers. She has also designed a skirt for

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

, a bone crown for

Bebe Rexha Bleta "Bebe" Rexha ( , ; born August 30, 1989) is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Warner Records in 2013, and was credited with co-writing releases of other artists—such as Eminem's Grammy Award-winning single " The Monster" ...

, a gold turban for

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

and a chain drape for

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

among her other works for Hollywood celebrities and pop artists. DeWitt moved to Los Angeles in 2017 when she expanded her business. In 2020, she designed the outfit for Rapper

Saweetie Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper (born July 2, 1993), known professionally as Saweetie (; also pronounced as simply "sweetie"), is an American rapper and singer. Her 2017 debut single, "Icy Grl", received RIAA certification, double platinum cer ...

in her music video, ''Back to The Streets''. She had designed crowns for the cast of the 2021 film,

Coming 2 America ''Coming 2 America'' is a 2021 American romantic comedy film that serves as a sequel to the 1988 film ''Coming to America'' starring Eddie Murphy in various roles and directed by Craig Brewer, from a screenplay by Barry W. Blaustein and Davi ...

. DeWitt has also worked on projects for

The Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Fla ...

, Macy’s Herald Square, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in London in 1835 by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. One of the early main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors, which appeared in advertising in 1843. In 1883, the restricted space of ...

. She has produced collections for several

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

and

Los Angeles Fashion Week Fashion Week in Los Angeles occurs biannually. Multiple show producers hold events throughout the Greater Los Angeles area each March and October. Traditionally, the City of Los Angeles identified the third weekend of those respective months as t ...

featured showcases.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeWitt, Laurel American women fashion designers American fashion designers Pratt Institute alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people