Born in Dallas, Lele Sandoughi studied adverstising at the University of Texas, followed by London's Central Saint Martins. She spent several years designing trims and overseeing patternmaking at Rebecca Taylor. It was there that her interest in hardware and adorning clothing was born. Lele cultivated a passion for jewelry during a turn at Ippolita, where she designed custom private label pieces for Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, and Club Monaco.