Delisa Rose Founder Recalls Illness That Led To Brand's Launch

Taquiela Wright’s entry into the fashion industry stemmed from a life-altering event.

After she was diagnosed with a severe stomach infection, Wright had to decide on a new direction for her life, including some lifestyle changes. Following a divorce and an illness that took her three years to recover from, Wright wanted to be intentional about curating Delisa Rose, a lingerie brand that makes women not only look beautiful but feel the same way on the inside.

Source: Taquiela Wright / Visual Control Photography and Cloee Photography

“I was trying to figure things out with my life, in terms of my post-divorce and battling an illness that took me three years to recover from,” Wright told MadameNoire, recalling how she almost passed from her sickness. “It caused me to make some adjustments in life, and immediately after that, I was divorced. Coming to the years post-Covid, I would say my mom passed away. I just had a lot of blows. I needed this brand to build my confidence back up from now a divorcee and a Black woman in our community where it’s not always the best, I say, when it comes to love situations.”

“How do we become confident? How do we build our own selves up without having to depend on someone to tell us we’re beautiful and things like that? I knew I wanted to create a brand that offers luxury products and a luxury experience where self-care is promoted, and body inclusivity and acceptance are promoted?” she continued.

Once Wright got out of the hospital, she was 70 pounds, noting how she didn’t feel or look like herself, propelling her to create Delisa Rose, and the rest is what they would call history. Before jumping headfirst into the fashion industry as an entrepreneur, she worked full-time as an aerospace engineer, which is evident in her designs. Moreover, she’s making history with Delisa Rose as one of the first Black-owned lingerie brands to debut at significant events like the MAGIC Trade Show and New York Fashion Week. 

At the end of September, Delisa Rose will make its Paris Fashion Week debut with the new Fantasy Collection.

Source: Taquiela Wright / Visual Control Photography and Cloee Photography

“It means the world. I’m so grateful to God. I’m so thankful,” said Wright. “I went through a whole application process. I had to prove myself, and with almost two years in the market, you want to make it seem like you know what you’re doing. I went there with my lookbook. I went with all the questions and answers. I was on my A game, and they selected me. It means a lot to me, so I push people not to shortcome themselves.”

“We are going to be using a lot of embroidery lace,” but the new thing about this collection is that it’s called Fantasy, so I wanted to create an illusion like a fantasy. So we are using a lot of colors. Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” and “Dream Lover” boy, that whole era was my inspiration behind the collection. You’ll see some embellishments and some diamonds and pearls. It’s a lot of beautiful, soft-tone colors that will complement the 2025 season that’s coming.”

In terms of the collection’s construction and specs, Wright says her aerospace engineering came in handy, as it always does in her approach to designing various lingerie pieces.

“I’m always playing on my background in all the industries, but just as an engineer as a whole, on the construction part of it,” said Wright. “In this collection, you will see some different bra shapes, not more or less. We constructed the boob area because that’s the hardest part to make; the bra is difficult, a lot of people don’t understand. We have so many cup sizes, so fitting one size per person is hard. Even if you go to the story, you grab a 36C cup or a 32D that might not still be your size. We’ve tried to innovate a new way of making a certain type of cup fit the breast area for a particular range of sizes. Then, it was all about the placement of the lace, where I played around with it. It’s very eye-catching but very dreamy as well. It’s beautiful, I love it.”

Wright, inspired by the tenacity of the founders behind brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Amazon, envisions a world where Delisa Rose is a phenomenon, surpassing some of the lingerie brands seen today.

Source: Taquiela Wright / Visual Control Photography and Cloee Photography

“I’m sure within God’s plan for me, but I’m also confident within my abilities that God gives me to push this brand forward with his help,” she said. “If God didn’t do anything else, he’s already done enough. So, my nieces, cousins, and family are inspired by how far I’ve come. I’m just taking each step to honor God and thank God for the moments that he does allow for the brand to be where it is today because that’s my legacy already.”

“I want to push more into 2025 with pop-ups and spreading awareness. We’re working on a big campaign called Sexy Has No Size,” Wright shared. “We’ll kick that off in my hometown and New York next year. More or less, this is getting a group of women with real-life experiences and letting them share their stories. It’s not about the size of their shape but their problems. Again, it ties back to when I had my issues healing from my trauma and also my illness. With the size of my problems, I didn’t feel sexy. Sexy Has No Size stems from that.”

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