Porter Lyons

Background

In March 2012, Porter started the brand as an exotic leather skin belt line sourced and manufactured in Louisiana. It has since then branched into an accessory and life style brand.

2012 – Backbone Collection

Upon designing leather belts with alligator hide, This collection explores the alligator using bones as material source.

2012 – Hatch Collection

Inspired by interchangeable travel jewelry in conjunction with an Imperial Fabergé egg that resides in New Orleans, this collection combines magnetic egg closures.

2013 – Agate Collection

Highlighting Louisiana's state mineral, agate, this collection incorporates Louisiana's natural resources for material sources.

2013–2015 – Rebuild and Category X Collection

The rebuild collection debuted in 2013 with one of the lines signature pieces, the coordinate ID bracelet, and has since been seen on Lauren Conrad,Shaun White, and Kelly Osbourne. The collection continues to grow and merged with the 2015 debut of Category X which commemorates the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

2014 Voodoo Collection

Inspired by the voodoo religion in New Orleans, this collection was inspired the metaphysical crystal properties of stones.

2015 Deco Bohemia

This collection, launched October 24, 2015 focuses on the art and Bohemian culture in the 1920s French Quarter.

2016 Creole Wild West

Inspired by the culture of the Mardi Gras Indians, the collection that launched in August 2016 incorporates intricate bead work, tribal symbols and materials native to Louisiana. The collection also includes hand made dreamcatchers that utilize beading techniques taught to the designer by Big Chief Harold Miller of the Creole Wild West tribe.

2016 Crescent City Collection

Porter debuted her first fine jewelry collection October 2016. Referencing the astrological placement of New Orleans, each piece has hidden longitude and latitude of the city hidden within the design. The collection predominately uses blue diamonds as a statement feature in each piece.

Brick and mortar

Porter Lyons opened their flagship store in New Orleans' French Quarter October 22, 2016, located at 631 Toulouse Street. The concept store features a gallery space, juice bar, sage bar, and jewelry retail.

About the designer

Ashley Porter grew up in Northern California and is based in New Orleans where her family heritage dates back to the early 1860s. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Master of Finance from Tulane University, and also has a graduate degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. After working for Balenciaga and Ralph Lauren in New York, she returned to New Orleans to pursue her own brand.

Inspiration

Porter draws inspiration from her family history, as well as New Orleans culture and traditions. Each collection focuses on a subculture and uses materials that reference the concept through locally sourced materials. Porter has said that her mission is to "preserve culture through design."

Philanthropy

In the Backbone collection, Porter Lyons focused its efforts on Louisiana by donating 5% of all profits to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

Porter Lyons' campaign, "Light Up for Literacy", donates 50% of custom earring sales to Louisiana Endowment for Humanities. The campaign launched in September 2014.

With the launch of "Deco Bohemia" in October 2015, Porter Lyons partnered with the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts to support children's art programs around Louisiana.

"I plan to turn Porter Lyons into a lifestyle brand", said Porter on MarthaStewart.com, "staying true to my mission of aiding different relief efforts based on which culture the item is inspired by."