Ro&Leaf, a new Buckhead-based loungewear brand, launches this month.
Twenty-seven-year-old fashion designer Caroline Avery has an impressive resume that includes experience at Steve Madden and Reebok. This year, she became founder and designer of loungewear brand Ro&Leaf, which ships its first drop this month.
Encouraged by her artist grandmother, Avery explored many artistic mediums as a child. Throughout high school, the Woodstock native filled her schedule with art classes, SCAD camps and creative opportunities before deciding she wanted to be a fashion designer. “I even took gym online to be able to take every single art class,” she says.
When it was time for college in 2017, she chose UGA. She graduated with a degree in fashion merchandising in 2021, but never fulfilled her dream of interning in fashion when her internship at Coach was canceled during the pandemic.
Avery found another internship at accessories brand Mignonne Gavigan and moved to New York City for it immediately after graduation. She later found jobs in the industry designing socks for Reebok and fashion accessories, such as scarves for Steve Madden. “I thrived in that environment,” she says.
After four years in New York, she decided to return to Atlanta and took a corporate apparel design job. “I wasn’t fulfilled enough, so I began designing on the side,” she says. She chose sleepwear as her category, looks that bridge home life and life on-the-go. “I don’t like wearing athleisure,” she says. “We are in an in-between loungewear moment.” After witnessing how much production waste can be created in fashion design, Avery also aimed to reduce as much production waste as possible.
Ro&Leaf, which launched pre-orders in April, is a play on Avery’s name. She goes by Caro and Leaf is a family middle name passed down through generations of women, including her mother and grandmother.
The collection features washable, mix-and-match pieces ranging in price from $45 to $80, including a button-down top, a pair of pants, boxer-inspired shorts and a T-shirt and tank top inspired by traditional pajamas. The In-Law Tank is a spandex-free, padded tank with a built-in bra that supports up to an H cup. Avery wanted women to feel comfortable around family and guests in sleepwear. “One of my big issues with regular pajamas was that anytime I was with others, I never felt I could take my bra off,” she says.
Her love of prints is reflected in two digitally hand-drawn patterns. Bohemian Bloom is a rich red paisley, and Dancing Doe is her take on animal print. The collection also includes solids in Poppi red and Cloud Dancer, Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year.
Avery sees the line as having multigenerational appeal. “I wanted to make something in fun prints that made sense for my community. Something my grandma could wear, but also something my friends from New York and my little sister would want,” she says.
Pre-orders were so successful that the Buckhead resident has already planned future drops through 2027. Pre-order customers are considered founders of the brand as a thank you. “I have already hit production costs to fund this first drop based on pre-sales, and I have a great community I want to reward,” she says. One of her biggest champions has been, unsurprisingly, her grandmother. “My grandmother has a tradition of giving everyone PJs on Christmas,” she says. “This year, I told her I’m in charge of pajamas.”
RO&LEAF
roandleaf.com
@ro.and.leaf
