LaLa Romero and Natalia Durazo: The Culture Connoisseurs

LaLa Romero and Natalia “Nat” Durazo are homegirls, not just by zip code but by heart. The best friends are Co-Founders of the wildly popular, LA-grown lifestyle brand, Bella Doña (BD). Their product line-up includes customized jewelry (bamboo earrings and nameplates), apparel (sweat suits and tees with a 90s vibe), home décor (fuzzy dice and posters), and their Allure-Best In Beauty award-winning cosmetics line, Sweet Street. Inspired by classic hip-hop, Chola vibes, the 90s, and all things neighborhood, BD has been on a mission to put on for communities that have been marginalized and underrepresented.

That intention, authenticity, and genuine love have amassed a collective following of 486K+ across all their social media platforms. It is also that love for the culture that permeates every product, post, and photo that they put into the universe. “Every BD image is shot in our front yards, backyards, on our streets, and in our neighborhoods. We have always shot this way since day one to show the world how beautiful our city is and especially through our lens. Growing up and often still, our neighborhoods are typically portrayed in the media as dark and dangerous. We hope our photos [content] serve as a reminder to our community that we are beautiful and worthy,” concedes LaLa and Nat.

Their business story may have started in 2013; however, both ladies are no strangers to expressing themselves creatively. In 2008, LaLa moonlighted as a singer and made some waves with hits like HOMEGLURZ and Sprung On A Thug. Meanwhile, Natalia focused on designing jewelry for her brand, HoneyBGold. Once the duo connected, their love for the culture evolved into a successful brand that their customers crave.

Flash forward to 2022, BD was one of four prominent LA streetwear brands hand-selected to partner with the NFL on their Origins Collection. And this month, their brand partnered with American luxury retail store and sports behemoth Nordstrom x Nike, respectively, for their first limited-edition collection, Hoop Dreams. “We have collected sneakers since we were in high school; fly sneakers are a huge part of our brand identity. We are so honored to sit in Nordstrom next to Nike & Jordan.”

These days, LaLa and Natalia’s palm tree dreams have manifested beyond their expectations. The best advice they can share with the homegirls who want to take their creative gifts to the next level is to “…really learn to trust your own intuition in business and life always! It’s so easy to have imposter syndrome and feel like you don’t know enough and aren’t enough. We have made our biggest mistakes when we didn’t stick to our gut. We always say our intuition is fueled by our ancestors, that lil nudge or voice in the wind is our great-great-grandmothers, so we always listen,” they maintain.

“We come from the land of sunshine, palm trees, candy paint, bomb nail shops, and gold-filled swap meets. There is so much beauty and relentless dream-chasing here. We must never forget this is our city, and most of our parents have built it.”

And that’s. On. Everything.