Tamara Mellon raises 50 million USD in Series C funding with plans to grow company

Tamara Mellon, the direct-to-consumer luxury women’s shoe brand announced today that it has raised 50 million USD in Series C financing. In a press release from the brand, this is one of the largest rounds to date for a female-founded fashion company. The latest round in funding brings Tamara Mellon’s total capital to 87 million USD.

The brand, which is led by Tamara Mellon and Jilly Layfield, plans to use this new capital towards “manufacturing innovation, retail expansion, and continued investments in [the] brand.” The company also has plans to grow its team, taking its current count from 40 employees to 60 by the end of 2019.

London-based investment firm Centricus led the latest round, joining NEA and Quandrille Capital as one of the shoe label’s investors.

According to the press release, Tamara Mellon experienced rapid growth in 2018. The brand, which is only available online and at its brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles at the Palisades Village, saw mobile traffic grow over 80 percent, being one of the first luxury brands to incorporate Apple Business Chat into its user interface.