Stitching Her Next Chapter

Writing by Stephanie Susnjara

Photography by Justin Negard

It was one of the most highly coveted invitations of the year, and Bedford resident Isa Kriegeskotte was waiting inside. Outside, her client, Sofía Vergara, glided down the red carpet, the glimmering lights splashing on her crystal-encrusted black gown. The Hollywood A-lister paused at the step and repeat backdrop, striking a pose for the paparazzi before disappearing into the star-studded Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Once inside, the actress snuck into the powder room to meet Kriegeskotte, her trusted personal tailor. Vergara donned a Ralph & Russo couture design that featured an intricate netting cape overlay. Earlier, Kriegeskotte and the wardrobe crew placed heavy steel boning around the actress’s arms to keep the delicate cape upright. And while the dress looked beautiful, it was extremely uncomfortable.

Now, using the powder room as a makeshift studio, Kriegeskotte quickly got to work. She gently maneuvered around Vergara’s arms with a pair of pliers, cutting away the cape and transforming the bejeweled design into a strapless gown that allowed the actress to move more freely and enjoy the party.

“Oh, crazy stuff like that happens all the time,” says Kriegeskotte. “Gowns arrive from Paris fashion houses with the awards show happening a day or two later. And these runway couture gowns are made for runway models who are almost six feet tall and size double zero.”

Not surprisingly, the majority of celebrities do not fit these measurements. But Kriegeskotte is known for performing tailoring magic, like adding six-inch panels to dresses and making them look seamless.

For nearly a decade, Kriegeskotte worked tirelessly as the go-to tailor for many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, ensuring her celebrity clients looked flawless on the most high-profile stages, including runways and couture ad campaigns. Whether it was custom fitting a gown for the GRAMMYs or making last-minute adjustments to an Oscar party ensemble, Kriegeskotte’s expertise made her an invaluable member of the celebrity glam squad (a combination of stylists, including hair, makeup and wardrobe artists, who ensure a cohesive, camera-ready look).

A family legacy

Kriegeskotte’s passion for tailoring began at a young age. Growing up, she was heavily influenced by her grandmother, a renowned pattern maker and illustrator in the New York City fashion world who created illustrations for Women’s Wear Daily and Norma Kamali runway patterns. She taught Kriegeskotte, taking her to the garment district and client meetings, and she used Kriegeskotte as a fit model when she was a teenager. By the time Kriegeskotte reached her middle and high school years at Fox Lane, she was already designing and sewing custom dresses.

“She was my glamorous grandmother living in New York City and was a super strong presence in my life,” Kriegeskotte remembers. “On weekends, my brother and I would sometimes take the train, and she’d meet us at the clock in Grand Central. She stressed the importance of independence and wanted her  grandchildren to be prepared for whatever life brought our way.”

A champagne and gold sequin dress.

Honing her craft

Early exposure to the fashion industry led Kriegeskotte to pursue a degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where she immersed herself in amore diverse cultural experience than she might have found at other top fashion schools. Kriegeskotte graduated summa cum laude in 2004, and following in her grandmother’s footsteps, headed to New York City. There, she began working with the highly regarded Harlem-based couture hatmaker Rod Keenan, whose one-of-a-kind hats adorned famous actors and rock stars. Under Keenan’s tutelage, Kriegeskotte crafted handmade headpieces for dancers at the New York City Ballet and further developed her entrepreneurial spirit.

“Sadly, he has closed his doors,” says Kriegeskotte. “He was an amazing couture hat maker and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). I had a great time being introduced to people at Vogue and the CFDA, as well as buyers at major luxury retailers and celebrity stylists, through working with him.”

After the millinery gig with Keenan, Kriegeskotte bounced around a little, holding various positions, such as a technical designer of soft goods at Burton Snowboards and set designer for Chanel runway shows. A friend introduced Kriegeskotte to the world of full-service, concierge-style tailoring, and with his help, she landed a job for a small custom couture agency that sent her out on high-end fitting jobs. One assignment involved alterations for then First Lady Michelle Obama.

Through the agency, Kriegeskotte began working on the Met Gala, the annual haute couture fundraising festival for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in Manhattan. The star-studded event is renowned for its unforgettable and often outrageous costumes, like Zendaya’s silver Versace gown that resembled medieval armor in 2018. Tailoring for the event soon became a regular independent freelance gig for Kriegeskotte.

“I worked with brands like Stella McCartney and Prada,” recalls Kriegeskotte. “It was just the designer, their PR team and a group of tailors. We’d fit every person that was on the red carpet. It was exciting, and I wanted to explore and do everything.”

In 2012, while working as a freelancer in New York, Kriegeskotte began receiving calls for the awards season in Hollywood; going back and forth was a delicate balancing act. Kriegeskotte would pack up and head to Los Angeles for extended stays, renting apartments or Airbnbs to serve as her home base while working with celebrity clients. In 2014, she decided to make L.A. her permanent home. A year later, in 2015, and after more than 10 years building her career, Kriegeskotte launched Isa Tailored & Made, which focused predominantly on her celebrity clientele.

“I have such a deep respect for couture craftsmanship, the teams that create these amazing garments, and for the people wearing them,” she says. “I consider myself lucky to have worked in this world.”

Kriegeskotte’s ascent to becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after custom tailors meant she regularly worked with prominent names in the fashion industry, including Givenchy, Rachel Zoe, W Magazine and Vogue, as well as leading advertising and editorial clients.

A collection of threads.

A pandemic-driven homecoming

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, many of Kriegeskotte’s clients stopped making public appearances, causing her runway jobs and other high-profile work to dry up. With her career on hold, Kriegeskotte filled the void with clients’ personal clothing needs, such as tailoring for weddings.

Meanwhile, Kriegeskotte’s father was battling pancreatic cancer back home. Kriegeskotte decided it was the right time to return to Bedford and be closer to her family. Her brother flew out to LA, and the two took a cross-country road trip together, stopping to camp and explore Zion National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park along the way.

“I was lucky to spend my dad’s last few months with him in Bedford,” Kriegeskotte recalls. “The pandemic was just such a crazy time. I didn’t know where I was going to land, so I took some time off to try and figure things out and see what unfolded.”

After her father’s passing, Kriegeskotte found herself without a clear plan and her belongings still in storage two years later. But attending her 20-year high school reunion, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, sparked an idea.

“Seeing many old friends who had moved back to the area, I realized Bedford is a wonderful place to live,” says Kriegeskotte. “Plus, my mother certainly needed the support with my dad gone. I decided to reopen my business here and do it on my own terms.”

Establishing A New Chapter

In 2023, Kriegeskotte opened Isa Tailored & Made at its new Bedford location. But this time, her business model did not include celebrity house calls and hotel room visits that demanded crunch-time fittings and all-nighters. There would be no more last-minute fixes, like eleventh-hour hems or emergency repairs of broken zippers. Instead, Kriegeskotte established a dedicated studio space in Bedford where clients could come to her by appointment for high-end tailoring, custom clothing and couture alterations. Over time, the word spread about Kriegeskotte’s new venture, primarily via word of mouth and social media.

Today, her studio space is also the headquarters for another one of Kriegeskotte’s endeavors, Living Pearl, a line of high-quality jewelry and free-flowing garments she established in 2021.

Isa Kriegeskotte in her studio.

Living Pearl evolved out of a creative side project Kriegeskotte started prior to the pandemic. It features fanciful costume jewelry that allows people to express their individual style while wearing high-fashion looks.

“I wanted to offer pieces that could complement the polished, runway-ready ensembles of my celebrity clients but also provide an opportunity for the wearer to inject a bit of their own personality,” says Kriegeskotte. “Someone wearing a full couture look from Louis Vuitton, for instance, may want to wear a funny earring that’s a little tongue-in-cheek.”

Kriegeskotte says she is drawn to Maison Schiaparelli’s quirky aesthetic; with its surreal touches, she relates to the brand’s ability to balance high fashion with a sense of humor and accessibility.

“I love what Schiaparelli does because it’s beautiful and quirky,” Kriegeskotte explains. “Everyone seems to like it, and it doesn’t exclude anybody.”

Because she aims to make Living Pearl accessible to a broad array of customers, Kriegeskotte’s line features a range of price points, from high-end fine jewelry to more affordable costume pieces, all united by a sense of playfulness and joy.

“Filthy Martini” olive stud earrings, “Beam me up Batty” silver charms and “Extra Crispy Bacon” hoops are just some of the best-selling pieces from Kriegeskotte’s whimsical collection.

Preserving the past

Since reopening Isa Tailor & Made, Kriegeskotte has found a passion for working with vintage and heirloom garments, including restoring or reimagining wedding gowns. This craftsmanship goes beyond the basic shortening of straps or fixing a hem. Instead, the service is for people who have a vision for their special pieces.

“People are bringing me their mom’s gowns, poofy things with big bows and huge trains,” says Kriegeskotte. “It’s been fun working with clients to reinterpret these special pieces into a new design and then execute them into something that reflects the client’s style,” she says. “I also work with an archival cleaner to help spruce up a gown, and many times it comes back a completely different shade of white once it’s been refreshed.”

Archival cleaning and storage are just two of the new services included in Kriegeskotte’s brand expansion; she has also refined the visual identity. Kriegeskotte is building a business team to take Isa Tailor & Made to the next level, and she recently hired someone to manage operations.

“We actually met because she was a bridal client this year,” Kriegeskotte explains. “And she’s amazing.”

And when needed, Kriegeskotte works with a dedicated shopper who sources the precise fabrics and other materials needed for high-end custom work.

“I mainly do the work myself, but I use independent contractors to outs source a few things,” she says. “I have a guy who does amazing work with chiffon, a difficult material that is like sewing tissue paper. He’s incredible.”

Isa Kriegeskotte with Sofia Vergara, a client she tailored for years.

Building her new path

In addition to growing her core tailoring business, Kriegeskotte also connects with customers through pop-upevents and collaborations. These temporary retail experiences allow Kriegeskotte to showcase her services and products in a more intimate, experiential setting.

Last fall, Kriegeskotte participated in pop-up events at Garment Modern & Vintage, a designer vintage store owned by a friend in Austin, TX, and Atelier Jolie, a sustainable brand in downtown Manhattan.

“I love being in an environment with people who understand what I’m offering and who are enthusiastic about collaborating on a shared vision,” Kriegeskotte says enthusiastically. “I hope to do more pop-ups.”

Besides rebuilding her brand back home, Kriegeskotte has achieved a welcome sense of balance compared to the high-octane days of dressing celebrities for the red carpet.

“Not every place feels like this,” she says, referring to Bedford. “There’s peace and calm, yet you have access to so much culture. I can have a nicely paced workday in a beautiful studio and then drive into the city to hear music.”

Motivated by a deep love of fashion, the joy of adornment and the opportunity to shape her business on her own terms, Kriegeskotte has found the perfect balance between her glamorous past and her promising future.

“I’m just excited to grow as I always hoped,” says Kriegeskotte. “I see it all coming together now, and maybe it was just timing. I had to get back to Bedford for it.”

This article was published in the January/February 2025 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.