Ciara Is Just Getting Started In Fashion

Ciara — the multi-hypenate mogul has dipped her toes in luxury fashion with the launch of the House of LR&C, which she created with husband Russell Wilson and Christine Day, “retail legend” and former CEO of Lululemon. While the House was built in 2020, carrying Gen Z-targeted brand Human Nation and Russell Wilson’s menswear line Good Man Brand, Ciara’s namesake brand, LITA by Ciara launched in August 2021.

The House of LR&C doesn’t mince words when it comes to what they stand for, with a 3% give-back program connected to Wilson and Ciara’s Why Not You Foundation (a non-profit dedicated to youth empowerment, education, and health). As a certified B corporation, all brands under the House of LR&C, including LITA, “meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose,” says B Lab’s definition.

Ahead, Ciara chats with Bustle about her impact, her style icons, and the pride of launching something that is fashionably responsible.

Can you tell me about your involvement in the design process for LITA?

I serve as the chief creative director for the company. And being in that role, it’s like an extension of who I am. It is me exercising my creative mind and being able to have a lot of fun. We have an amazing team that I work with and we get to pour our creative hearts out to each other. It’s allowed us to create some of the dopest designs.

I can really see your creative vision in each of the pieces — it’s streetwear, with femininity, and a little bit of masculine edge.

That makes me so happy to hear. I love how you have received the pieces, because all those details matter to me — even down to how we communicate the brand to our customers, how we share our creativity, our creative vision. LITA stands for Love is the Answer. There's a lot of love poured into the process. I want for women to be excited. It makes me feel proud.

Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?

The Cherry Tomato Tie-Front Solid Jumpsuit is my favorite, and I'm also obsessed with our Gladiator Lace-Up Sandals. All the bucket hats are fun. There's this soft pink bucket hat that I'm obsessed with, with the LITA cheetah on the front.

Which fashion icons have inspired your style?

My grandmother was very, very fashionable. She was a fashion queen. She had her own seamstress. She was a ‘new day, new look’ kind of woman. She was all about the accessories. My dad was really big in fashion too. That's where the tomboy side of me really kicked in.

What is the best fashion investment you’ve ever made?

A lot of these shoes — those classic shapes — you need to keep them. I learned the hard way because there were some really amazing pieces that I got early on, when I started my first album. I still remember these YSL boots that I gave away. Like, what was I thinking? I started to learn to keep the classic basics. Accessories are always great investments, because they're just timeless. You never know when you're going to need the classic bucket hat.

Are there any celebs that you would like to do a collab with?

There's some cool brands I’d love to work with, like Golden Goose. I think a lot of my friends are already doing their thing, like Teyana Taylor. It's really beautiful when I see people like [her] or Rihanna being able to express themselves in their fullest capacity of creativity and do it really well. It's such a powerful thing, when you see us girls out here, having that opportunity to inspire. I love my friend, Peter Dundas, maybe one day Dundas and LITA can do something together. I'm proud of us. We're all being creative and expressing ourselves through fashion.

What can we expect next from LITA?

We're always thinking of ways to challenge ourselves. What's really important to us is that we think of everyone and we include everyone. Like us figuring out how we can continue to expand in our sizes. We ultimately want to impact through fashion. Whenever you buy a piece from The House, from LITA, Good Man Brand, Human Nation, you're always making a difference. We want to take people on that journey with us.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.