Bethlehem’s Lara Bly has experienced the fashion industry all over the world, but her fifteen years of work in the Lehigh Valley are what earned her a custom request by the mother of Philadelphia Eagles superstar Saquon Barkley.
The Whitehall native’s 2,000-yard season helped guide the Eagles to the Super Bowl this past Sunday. When former U.S. Representative Susan Wild put out a social media call for a designer who could create a custom jacket for Barkley’s mother, Tonya Johnson, a friend of Bly’s told her to reach out.
“Didn’t really think anything was going to come from it. She basically said that she would make the connection, but it didn’t sound too hopeful. But then, lo and behold, at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Sunday…exactly one week before the Super Bowl is when I got Tonya’s phone number.”
The project happened fast. Johnson was leaving Thursday night for New Orleans, and Bly says getting the fabrics and branded details created even more of a difficult task.
Not only that, but Lara’s usually designs dresses, not jackets.
“I think I’ve honestly made two jackets my entire life. So I was slightly terrified that I was not going to get the fit of the jacket right. Once I got the relief of the fit of the jacket over, I knew that adding all the details and making it beautiful, that’s easy for me.”
The first fitting took place on Monday, and the first sample came on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were taken up by adding the graphics, which were completed in time thanks to some help from Derek Wallen of Lehigh Valley Printing.
“Wednesday night and Thursday, we had a team of people, and we just sat at the table drinking martinis and putting rhinestones everywhere we possibly could in as much time as we had.”
The final product features Barkley’s jersey number, 26, on the front and the title “Mama B” on the back, Johnson’s only two requests. The rest of the details were left up to Bly; a creative freedom she says designers dream of. Other details include graphics of Barkley riding on the back of an eagle and of his infamous backwards hurdle from earlier this season.
Bly says the process involved 14-16 hours of work a day until the jacket was complete, although she also says the adrenaline and excitement kept her moving.
“I was just praying to God that they won. I knew they would, but, man, they really won.”
And the project didn’t end there, because a friend suggested that she make a second jacket for Johnson to change into once the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
“And I looked at them and I was like, ‘You’re crazy if you think I’m making a second jacket.’”
But, after presenting the idea to Johnson, paying Lehigh Valley Printing another visit, and utilizing a jacket she already had in her shop, she had created a second jacket perfect for a victory celebration.
“I thought she might not like the idea because, you know, superstitious wise, she might be like, ‘No way, I don’t want a jacket that says Super Bowl champions until after they win.’ But she loved the idea, and the jacket fit her perfectly.”
Johnson says she plans to wear that second jacket to Friday’s Super Bowl parade.
Since the designing whirlwind concluded, Bly says she’s created new goals for herself.
“Living in the Lehigh Valley, I feel like I’ve had to simplify things that I want to work on, because I’m always thinking, ‘Well, of course, I can make this incredible gown, but who’s going to buy it?’ This sort-of inspired me to stop thinking that way and to make what I want to make, and then figure out who I want to wear it. So, rather than wait for people to come to me, I would like to target people to wear those things.”
When she’s not creating custom jackets for NFL stars’ families, Lara Bly is running her design studio and fashion boutique in South Bethlehem. She also hosts two fashion shows a year, with her next one scheduled for May 10.
