Ala von Auersperg

Ala von Auersperg started her career in fashion … as a painter.

The daughter of Sunny von Bülow, whose husband Claus von Bülow was accused of trying to murder his wife, admits, “I knew nothing to begin with. I really started out painting, and then a fashion friend queried, ‘Why don’t you try these designs on fabric?”  That was over nine years ago, when her design line began to take off. “My audience was really women over 35 who want clothes that are flattering and comfortable,” Ala said over lunch at Swifty’s at the Colony Hotel. And she now has the pleasure of working with her daughter Sunny. “We see the business very much alike, and sometimes we can finish each other’s sentences,” said Ala.

Ala with her daughter Sunny Zweig.

AvA’s growing business success with dresses and slacks is leading to a range of accessories, plus collaborations with other designers. Ala emphasized, “Big picture … It’s about empowering women, and making them feel good about themselves” … a far happier ending than the 1990 movie script of Reversal of Fortune that starred Glenn Close as her mother Sunny.

Sunny von Bülow

It’s plain to see that AvA is a thriving business and not a mere hobby; yet, when not consumed with creating new prints and patterns in Palm Beach or New York, Ala and her banker husband Ralph Isham enjoy life in Antigua … far from the madding crowd.

An Isham family photo.