Laura Poretzky was born in France to a Russian father and a Danish-Brazilian mother, and raised between Paris, Rio de Janeiro and New York. With a lifelong interest in the arts, she was accepted into the top-ranked Rhode Island School of Design to study photography, but switched to fashion design when she found herself spending more time with the fabrics she was shooting than in the darkroom. Upon graduation, Laura was hired to a coveted position at Ralph Lauren, where she further refined her design sensibilities.

Having spent much of her life on the beaches of Brazil, Laura left Ralph Lauren and set out to create her own line of sexy, wearable swim and resort wear called James. Within months, James won widespread recognition and the suits were soon seen in top fashion magazines and on celebrities and fashionistas everywhere from Hollywood to the Hamptons.

Now with Abaeté. Laura has extended her range by creating a complete line of ready-to-wear that truly embodies her unique spirit, one that captures her French femininity, Brazilian sensuality, and American simplicity. Her past inspirations range from the Russian Romanov period, to the Brazilian movie Black Orpheus, to the 1960’s Mod era, and even to the lighting installations of Dan Flavin.

Laura has shown several collections with Abaeté during New York Fashion Week, collaborated on many projects with different accessory lines, and is the first to ever create a designer collection for Payless ShoeSource under the label Abaeté for Payless. The Abaeté for Payless collection, which debuted during Laura’s Fall 2006 show, has been incredibly successful both in press and sales. This success has lead to a succeeding winter collection, spring ’07 collection, and a multi-year extension of the collaboration for seasonal collections of footwear and accessories.

Laura is increasingly involved in New York society as a young patron of the arts, and a presence in the social scene. Her profile has appeared in numerous publications including Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and has been featured on Style.com.