When it comes to fashion, Laura Citron proves that true style begins with confidence. Blending her Louisiana roots with vintage-inspired maximalist glamour, Laura celebrates bold colors, rich textures, and pieces that are equally as charming as they are timeless. From Mardi Gras style to festivals and parades, Laura’s fascination with fashion came at a very young age.
“My mom was a fabulous pack rat who kept all of her '70s lamè jumpsuits, so to me, her closet was like Narnia,” Laura explains. “It resonated so deeply with me… I would invite my friends over, dress them up, and put on mini fashion shows for my mom and her friends. It just always spoke to me.”
While her passion for fashion was evident, it wasn’t until she was older that she realized she could truly make it into a career. After graduating high school, Laura attended Louisiana State University and studied broadcast journalism with a minor in fashion—simply because she loved it. At the time, her cousin was a producer in Los Angeles and invited her to come out for the summer to see if she liked the entertainment side of broadcast journalism; Before she knew it, she was working on The Tyra Banks Show and, eventually, found her way to the wardrobe team. Once her magical summer came to an end, she was more inspired than ever and decided it was New York City or bust. She transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology, following her intuition that the fashion industry was where she belonged.
“It was a scary decision, but the scariest thing, to me, is always not trying. I fell in love with the city and the fashion,” Laura shares. “I met so many people, and found so many different facets of the fashion industry. I was a stylist, a buyer, a trend forecaster… but one of my most passionate roles was managing a vintage store there, and it brought me back to my roots of my mom's closet.“
Laura's other half, Andrew Clancey, is a renowned fashion designer and the owner of Any Old Iron—a British-inspired boutique known for its bold, rock-and-roll aesthetic. Founded in Manhattan in 2010, he and Laura noticed a steady stream of stylists visiting from Nashville who all expressed the same sentiment: they needed more distinctive fashion options. This inspired them to bring Any Old Iron to Nashville. Andrew proposed the idea to Laura that she could open a vintage shop of her own in the space behind his boutique. By 2014, the two were packed up for Nashville, where Andrew opened Any Old Iron and Laura opened the doors to Opium Vintage.
“The vintage pieces were becoming a little bit harder and harder to find,” she recalls. “We were working with the stylists here, and they were telling us what they were looking for, so [Andrew] came across a manufacturer and started making a few sequin jackets, and those really took off. He said, ‘Well, why don't you pull out your favorite vintage elements and make a little collection and see how that does?’ So I started designing with my favorite vintage elements and little by little, the stylists started using them too.”
Over the past twelve years, Laura has continued to evoke eclectic nostalgia of decades past with a reimagined vision for a modern world. Her label has been seen on numerous red carpets and award show stages on notable musicians including Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Lauren Alaina, Jennifer Nettles, and Greta Van Fleet, among others. She has also shown her collections in over forty fashion shows across ten cities in the United States, and one internationally in Australia at Melbourne Fashion Festival. In 2023, she won Charleston Fashion Week's Emerging Designer Competition and was later featured on The Tamron Hall Show's Up & Coming Designer series, where she was mentored by renowned fashion designer Michael Kors. While her professional achievements continue to grow, what inspires Laura most is the opportunity to make a difference through her work. In the past, she has participated in fashion shows benefiting incredible organizations including the American Cancer Society, Nashville Humane Society, Dress for Success, Faith + Wildflowers, the Bridge, and more. In addition, Laura is a board member of the Nashville-based non-profit, Fashion Is For Every Body—an organization that produces an annual inclusive fashion show celebrating models of all sizes, races, ages, disabilities, and more. This November, she will be showcasing her collection at New Orleans Fashion Week before participating in Fleur de Bra, a costumed fashion show that celebrates breast cancer survivors and raises funds for breast cancer patients. For Laura, fashion is fantasy, and her goal is to create a world filled with color, sparkle, and fun where everyone can feel happy, confident, and fabulous!
“I always say that if you appreciate art or fashion or interior design, it's all the same language, it’s just using different tools,” Laura explains. “I appreciate all those things, but I chose fashion because if you have a beautiful piece of art on your wall that you admire, it's amazing, but once you leave your house, you leave that piece. Whereas what you wear on your body, you get to choose who you want to be that day—it's a little moving piece of art with a message that stays with you throughout the entire day.”
One of Laura’s design philosophies is dopamine dressing: the scientific theory that wearing a bright, happy color or seeing someone in a bright, happy color gives you a pop of dopamine. When she’s having a bad day, she loves tricking her brain with the use of colors—whether it’s a hot pink dress or a statement purse, she always feels better than she started! Fashion is more than just the clothes you wear—it is a lifestyle. Even if it’s something small, just one little bit of color helps you dip your toe into exploring your style without feeling too uncomfortable in doing so.
“I have people that say, ‘I love all of your pieces, I just wish I had somewhere to wear them too.’ My response to that is life is the occasion! Being alive is the occasion,” she shares. “[I love] taking a situation that is super mundane and turning it into something fun, just by what you wear. Like a Tuesday night, nothing's going on… let’s go put on a fun dress and heels and sit at a bar and have a glass of champagne.”
For Laura, Nashville has been more than a home—it has been a source of inspiration and a place that introduced her to a community that has joyfully embraced her creativity and passion. Music City’s growing fashion scene—and unique blend of individuality, creativity, and Southern charm—has inspired her to embrace the idea that fashion is more than just what we wear, it’s a reflection of who we are.
“It’s about wearing what makes you feel your best, and that's what's so great about fashion—it’s about being able to give yourself a little bit of confidence, and give someone a little sneak peek of who you are before you even open your mouth,” Laura shares.
In addition to its downtown location on 4th Avenue, Laura Citron's collections will also be available inside Any Old Iron's second location on Magazine Street in New Orleans, opening this month. The expansion reflects the brand's mission to offer distinctive, one-of-a-kind pieces to the city's stylish locals while creating custom designs for Mardi Gras, galas, balls, and the countless celebrations that make New Orleans so unique.
For more information, visit her website, or follow Laura on social media.
@bylauracitron