Jessie Randall has been dressing some of the most stylish women in Manhattan — and far beyond — for the past 22 years. As the design genius behind Loeffler Randall, her boots, sandals, heels, and wedges have made her an icon to women who love stylish shoes that don’t cost a month’s rent and won’t land you in the podiatrist’s chair. She has four stores in America, but opening in London was a lifelong dream — and now, anyone walking down Chiltern Street has a very good excuse to pop into the new Loeffler Randall boutique to see what Jessie and her talented team have been working on. We were delighted to welcome her to the Grand Divan.
How do you describe your profession?
I am the chief creative officer at the company I started with my husband over twenty years ago, Loeffler Randall. We just opened our first international store on Chiltern Street, which is a dream come true for us! My work is to oversee design at my company. I am involved in everything design-related from collection inspiration, to helping choose the tile and 36 Bourne Street fabric for our store, to concepting the cutwork curtain design for our cafe-themed pop-up to celebrate the store opening, to directing design of our shoe, handbag and clothing collections, all the way down to approving stitch colours on nearly every item we produce. I also write a Substack called Jessie Loves.
Where are you looking for inspiration these days?
I am always on the hunt for things that inspire me, from the stripe on bistro chairs in Paris to the vintage needlepoint shoes I saw at an exhibition to the clever colour combinations I found on a vintage paper pieced taffeta quilt. I was so lucky to happen to be in London for The Textile Society’s Antique and Vintage Fair. I found so many stunning antique textiles, prints, techniques, and clothing items that will inspire upcoming collections. It was an incredible show!
How are you dividing your time between projects?
Right now we are working on finishing up our Fall 2027 collection and beginning to conceive our Holiday 2028 collection. I’m looking everywhere to find things that inspire me. My team and I are also working on several fun collabs we have coming up and some creative pop-ups in the coming year. I’m also writing three newsletters a month for Jessie Loves.
Are you a creature of habit in terms of your creative process, or does your schedule vary?
My life is all about cultivating my creativity. I couldn’t ever separate my personal life from my creative work life. I find that the things I do in my time off that don’t seem related to my job create a space for ideas to flourish. Things like arranging flowers from my garden, or a needlepoint project, or learning a new skill each month at the craft club my friends and I started — all these things find their way into my collections somehow.
Who are your favourite creative collaborators?
For our London shop, I loved working with artist Rachael Anna Cocker, who created the stunning geranium painting for our store and Alfred Newall, who made our shelf. It was a dream come true to have Sean Anthony Pritchard create stunning florals for our opening. Over the years we’ve worked with many British artists like Florence Sweryda and Tess Newall. I admire them so much.
What did you eat and drink today?
I had chicken and mashed potatoes. My husband and son split the roast beef trolley.
Tell us a bit about your dining companions — what do you enjoy about their company?
I came to Simpson’s for lunch with my husband and business partner, Brian Murphy, and my son Casper, age 19. Brian is a bit bonkers but a lot of fun. For example, at our opening dinner, co-hosted by Laura Jackson, he wore eye de-puffing patches from her beauty line right at the table, which cracked me up. He always likes to order the most adventurous item on the menu, which I also appreciate since I am such a picky eater, which is not an admirable trait. I enjoy my son Casper’s company because he is so calm, and so thoughtful. He is also secretly incredibly funny. During our lunch we were both poking fun at my husband for having an AI digital assistant named Merlin who is pictured as a white Pomeranian wearing a headset and typing at a computer. It’s a reference to his beloved dog, Peanut. Merlin is always emailing us, which we find absurd.
If you could live with any work of art in your home, what would it be?
Well, I’m asking Rachael Anna Cocker to recreate her painting for my house by the beach on Long Island because I love it so much. I also dream of one day owning a Tanya Ling painting. Tanya is a close friend of my friend Nikki Kule, and she came to our opening dinner at The Hart.
When you are feeling low or uninspired, is there a musical artist, song or album that you turn to?
When I’m missing my younger son, I listen to a playlist he made on Spotify — lots of Cass Elliot.
Will you share an example or two of your favourite artists in any medium?
I admire Miuccia Prada because she is able to see elegance in things that are not typically considered elegant, for example, purposely leaving a folding crease in a skirt, or making shoes that are scuffed. She finds beauty in things that are thought of as tacky. I think this approach is inviting to people who haven’t necessarily grown up surrounded by high fashion, like myself.
JESSIE’S DOSSIER
Birthplace: Worcester, Massachusetts
Neighbourhood: Brooklyn, New York to live and SoHo, New York to work.
Cocktail: I had an elegantly prepared Aperol Spritz when I visited Simpson’s.
Bookshop: McNally Jackson, in New York.
Gallery: I’m lucky to be friends with Gisela Gueiros, an art historian who conducts gallery tours in New York. I love to go on her tours and learn from her.
Theatre: Ever since I studied abroad in London during college and lived in Regent’s Park, I make a point to visit The Open Air Theatre there when the weather is nice. My favourite! I saw La Cage aux Folles there a few summers ago and loved the costumes.
Cinema: I like the Everyman when I’m visiting London. In Park Slope, Brooklyn, where I live, I’m lucky to have an indie movie theatre right on my block, The Nitehawk.
Novel: I almost exclusively read non-fiction, although I did enjoy The Correspondent, maybe because it’s an epistolary novel. A book I liked recently was True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel. It’s about a man accused of murdering his whole family who impersonates the author, a disgraced journalist from The New York Times. I also loved Famesick by Lena Dunham.
Any current recommendations for us? Amandaland is my favourite. I think Lucy Punch is totally brilliant. For exhibitions, I just saw an inspiring one in Paris at the Palais Galliera called “Weaving, Embroidering, Embellishing: The Crafts and Trades of Fashion.”
