Leyla Piedayesh: Dresses for Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz & more

A woman who built a global fashion brand with just a single knit scarf – and whose clothes are now photographed on the bodies of Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz, and Penélope Cruz. Leyla Piedayesh is no accident in the fashion industry. She is proof that real craftsmanship, cultural depth, and unwavering stubbornness move things more in the long run than any trend report. Anyone who wants to understand how a Persian family heritage and a basement in Berlin became an international luxury brand must know the story of lala Berlin.

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From the Scarf to a Global Brand: The Birth of lala Berlin

Design Philosophy: Between the East and Berlin Mitte

Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz, Penélope Cruz: Why celebrities wear lala Berlin

Lala Berlin on international Fashion Weeks

Lala Berlin at a glance: Brand Profile

What Models Can Learn from lala Berlin

Checklist: How to prepare for a fashion casting

Frequently asked questions about Leyla Piedayesh and lala Berlin

From the Scarf to a Global Brand: The Birth of lala Berlin

Leyla Piedayesh grew up between two worlds – the Iran of her parents and the Germany where she became a television presenter. This cultural duality is still present in every collection. When she designed her first knit scarf, she wasn’t thinking about a brand. She was thinking about a feeling: the soft, the warm, the strong at the same time. This scarf ended up on the right person at the right time – and suddenly everyone wanted to know where it came from.

What followed was not a smoothly planned business plan, but organic growth through quality and recognizability. lala Berlin focused from the beginning on knitwear with unmistakable patterns that combined oriental ornamentation with minimalist Berlin aesthetics. This combination remains the brand’s core to this day – and the reason it cannot be easily categorized.

Founded out of personal drive, not calculation
First success through word-of-mouth and celebrities
Berlin as the creative home port of the brand
Knitwear as a signature element since the beginning

Design Philosophy: Between the East and Berlin Mitte

The Pattern as Language

The iconic patterns of lala Berlin are not just decoration – they are communication. Piedayesh draws from a deep engagement with Persian ornamentation, Islamic calligraphy, and the reduced form repertoire of contemporary design. The result are prints and knit patterns that appear modern at first glance but reveal historical depth upon closer inspection. For models who want to be present on international runways, this very multilayered quality is relevant: clothing that tells stories moves differently on runways than mere surface items. Anyone interested in runway and catwalk tips quickly understands why wearing design pieces with substance requires its own technique.

Quality as an Attitude

Piedayesh consciously produces in smaller quantities and with selected partners. Cashmere blends, high-quality wool qualities, precise tailoring – lala Berlin has never been drawn into the fast fashion whirlwind. This decision is also an ethical one: less, but better. This philosophy explains why the pieces are rediscovered season after season and do not appear outdated after three months. Among German fashion designers, Piedayesh thus holds a special position – between avant-garde and wearable luxury.

Cashmere and premium wool as core materials
Limited editions instead of mass production
Timelessness over trend conformity
Ethical production as brand identity

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Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz, Penélope Cruz: Why celebrities wear lala Berlin

It’s no coincidence that women like Heidi Klum, Cameron Diaz, and Penélope Cruz turn to lala Berlin. These women have styling teams that review hundreds of options every day – and yet, Piedayesh’s work keeps ending up in their wardrobes. The reason is simple: lala Berlin works equally well on the red carpet and in everyday life. The pieces flatter a variety of body types, have a clear recognizable style without being overbearing, and they photograph exceptionally well.

“Fashion that only works on the hanger is failed design. A dress must move, must breathe, must belong to the woman – not the other way around.”

— Insider wisdom from the Berlin design scene

For aspiring models, this is a valuable lesson: The pieces that celebrities keep wearing are rarely the loudest ones. They are the ones that enhance a personality rather than overshadow it. Anyone wanting to prepare for a casting should understand this distinction. A well-chosen, character-strong wardrobe can make the crucial first impression at a casting at CM Models.

Wearability on multiple levels (Red Carpet & everyday life)
High photogenic potential through pattern depth
Flattering cuts for diverse body types
Recognizability without being intrusive

Lala Berlin on international Fashion Weeks

Berlin as a starting point

The brand is inseparably linked to the Fashion Week Berlin – an event that is smaller than the Big 4 Fashion Weeks, but serves as an important home stage for German designers like Piedayesh. Here, lala Berlin presents collections that subsequently end up on international buyer lists. The Berlin scene has given the brand its roots, while international expansion has made it grow.

Presence in the fashion metropolises

The distribution presence of lala Berlin extends far beyond Germany. Anyone who wants to understand the international modeling scene must know that the major stages of fashion are in Paris, Milan, London, and New York. The Paris Fashion Week, the Milan Fashion Week, the London Fashion Week, and the New York Fashion Week are the platforms where brands like lala Berlin gain international visibility. For models who want to work in these cities, it is essential to know the design landscape – whether in a model agency Berlin, a model agency Hamburg, with becoming a model in London, or with becoming a model in New York.

Berlin as a creative home market
International distribution in luxury multi-brand stores
Presence on all important fashion platforms

Lala Berlin at a glance: Brand Profile

Feature	lala Berlin	Typical Competition
Design philosophy	Orient meets Berlin minimalism	Often purely western oriented
Core material	cashmere, premium wool, knit	Variable material mix
Production volume	Limited, controlled	Often scaled
Target group	Design-oriented women, all age groups	Often narrowly defined
Celebrity reach	Klum, Diaz, Cruz and others	Rarely organic
Recognizability	Very high through signature patterns	Moderate to low

What Models Can Learn from lala Berlin

Designers like Leyla Piedayesh create worlds into which models step – and those who understand these worlds work better within them. A model who knows why a knit dress from lala Berlin is cut the way it is, wears it differently. Those who know the design philosophy find the right posture, the right walk, the right look. This is not theory – this is the practice of every professional shoot.

For all those who want to make it in this industry: The requirements to become a model are more diverse than many think. There is no single body standard, nor a single path. Whether through the classic steps to becoming a model, as a curvy model or through a model agency without minimum height requirements – the industry has become more diverse. Those who wonder whether measurements and requirements for a modeling career are suitable, or whether a minimum height requirement at model agencies is necessarily essential, should inform themselves thoroughly.

Design knowledge makes models better ambassadors
Understand the cultural depth of a brand
Adjust posture and movement to the piece
Know your strengths and use them

Checklist: How to prepare for a fashion casting

☐ Research the brand’s design philosophy
☐ Choose suitable, clean basic clothing for the casting
☐ Model portfolio for the casting update
☐ Part-time modeling as an entry option to consider
☐ Choose a serious model agency for registration
☐ Pay attention to fees: Do you pay model agencies?
☐ Only register with model agencies without fees
☐ Clarify salary and conditions in advance: How much does a model earn?
☐ Write professionally to a model agency
☐ Become a model in larger sizes as an option to consider
☐ Apply directly now and take the first step

Frequently asked questions about Leyla Piedayesh and lala Berlin

Who is behind the brand lala Berlin?

Leyla Piedayesh is the sole founder and creative director of lala Berlin. The native Iranian, who worked as a TV presenter in Germany, founded the brand from a personal design impulse – without a fashion education, but with a precise sense for materials, patterns, and cultural storytelling. Today, she is one of the best-known German designers in the international luxury segment.

Why do so many celebrities wear lala Berlin?

lala Berlin combines high wearability with unmistakable aesthetics. The pieces flatter various body types, are photogenic, and possess a depth that works across seasons. Styling teams turn to lala Berlin because the brand enhances personality rather than overshadowing it – a crucial factor for clients like Heidi Klum or Cameron Diaz, who have strong visual identities of their own.

Where can you buy lala Berlin?

lala Berlin is available in upscale multi-brand boutiques worldwide, including Berlin, Hamburg, London, Paris, and New York. The brand’s own online shop offers the complete collection. Those who know the top modeling agencies know: Many stylists order directly for productions and photo shoots through the brand team.

What sets lala Berlin apart from other German fashion designers?

The combination of Persian cultural heritage and Berlin’s design language is unique in the German fashion landscape. While many German fashion designers are either positioned in the avant-garde or the commercial segment, lala Berlin occupies the rarely filled middle ground: aesthetically demanding, internationally positioned, and yet wearable for a broad audience with a strong sense of style.