Lawrence Pizzi graduated from The Art Institute of Philadelphia in 1986 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. Lawrence, always serious about his passion, continued to grow and learn as both a merchandiser and designer after graduation.

After attending The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Lawrence continued his education in Milan, Italy where he became a certified tailor. While attending school, he tried to gain as much experience as he could by working for several different and unique companies and designers. Lawrence has had the opportunity to work for Missoni, Benetton, Byblos, and Roberto Cavalli. Getting the most out of his education, he also spent one week a month in LA working for NoBody, Inc.

Lawrence finished his program in Italy in 1988 and was recruited by Alfred Sung in Toronto, Canada to help update his collection. Lawrence worked with Sung until 1992, when he decided to return to the United States. From 1992 until 1996, Lawrence worked at The Art Institute of Philadelphia as a teacher in the Fashion Design program.

Living in New York City, Lawrence was always ready for a new challenge and enjoyed fresh new experiences. While teaching, Lawrence freelanced with Ann Klein, Koo Kai, Studio Classics, Guess, and Ann Taylor. He also ventured into textile art studios and created original artwork for prints. In 1996, Lawrence was given the opportunity to work with Barneys New York designing their private label.

Lawrence continued to spread his wings and was eager to work with as many designers as he could. By 1998, he had worked with a long list of designers and added labels such as Giorgio Armani, A X, John Bartlett, Hugo Boss, and Helmet Lang to his growing resume. After 10 years of hard work and learning all he could, Lawrence was ready to venture out on his own.

Clients starting lining up after his show in April 1998 at Madison Square Garden with the New York International and Independent Film and Video Festival. Patti LaBelle was one of the first people to commission Lawrence. He designed a dress for her to wear for a PBS special, Live One Night Only. Since then, she continues to order dresses and coats from him. Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, and Lauryn Hill and their associates have also taken fondly to Lawrence’s designs. Gladys Knight even wore garments by Lawrence in her Broadway appearance in Smokey Joe’s Café.

In the September of 1999, Lawrence premiered his Ready-To-Wear collection in New York. After one season, he moved his showroom and collection to Paris. He showed the collection in both Paris and Milan and attracted a small following of high end boutiques from around the globe.

Lawrence’s designs have even hit the big screen. His garments were used in Licensed to Steel along with other movies. He has also been successful gaining print exposure and was featured by The Plaza Hotel and Air France. Several magazines have showcased his garments and he was even proclaimed "NYC's best kept secret." Lawrence also took part in many award ceremonies and even had the opportunity to show his work at embassies in Washington, DC, Ottawa, Paris, Tokyo, and Rome. He also provided several actresses outfits in 2000 for the Soap Opera Digest Awards and presented his collection at the TIMMY Awards in New York City.

Lawrence’s list of accomplishments is impressive. In 2000 alone, Lawrence was featured in an eight page spread in EuroMode Magazine, provided outfits for Queen Latifah in Essence magazine, and was the cover story in Talent in Motion magazine. These and his other ventures got him nominated for Best Tailoring in a Prêt-A-Porter Collection and gave him the opportunity to participate in the Made in Italy awards ceremony that year. The accolades kept coming, and Lawrence was nominated for Best Young New Designer by the TIMMY Awards in April 2001.

September 11th, 2001 had a huge impact on business for Lawrence. He struggled through the tough times as boutiques and stores overseas stopped ordering products from the United States and private clients no longer ventured to NYC to shop. Waiting for the industry to rebound, Lawrence returned to his roots and began teaching at Wood Tobe-Coburn in New York. He has also returned to freelancing for clients such as Oscar de la Renta and Josephine Chaus. He was then approached by Sassoon to head up their marketplace return. Lawrence took them up on the offer and is currently working as Head Designer of MSasson. He was also awarded Best Tailoring in a Prêt-A-Porter Collection from the USA in November 2001.

To the delight of many boutique owners, Lawrence has recently re-launched his own collection. Today, the Lawrence Pizzi label sports an up-and-coming young designer’s collection of ladies- and menswear consisting of coordinating tops and bottoms in woven and knit fabrics. Throughout his career, Lawrence has never forgotten The Art Institute of Philadelphia and where he got his start. He even has some of his former students helping him pull all the details of his newest line together.