Danielle Frankel's Debut Bridal Collection for Fall 2018

Danielle Frankel doesn't want 'bridal' to be considered a bad word in the fashion industry.

"From my experience, within the world of fashion...it's frowned upon," said the designer, who graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2012 as a finalist for designer of the year, and went on to work as an associate designer and draper at Marchesa, followed by a three-year stint as the designer for bridal and made-to-order at Vera Wang. Frankel launched her own made-to-order bridal business in late 2016, after seeing the potential for a shift in the world of weddings and in the custom bridal business. "Bridal is such a moment in someone’s life, and the brides that I work with want to have an influence in what they're wearing. My client is a woman with an established sense of personal style; she's a tastemaker and wants to be a part of the process in designing or putting together a look that nobody else will have."

Tory Rust

Danielle noticed the massive need for made-to-order options and simultaneously, the sameness that was forming from friends and industry it-girls all designing their dresses in a veritable vacuum, with Pinterest, Instagram and their friends' weddings as their guide. "The energy of what's happening in bridal right now is all about over-saturation paired with constant sources of inspiration," says Frankel. "Brides are spending so much money on the most important outfit of their lives, and then three months later, their best friend’s friend is wearing the exact same dress–and it's all over Instagram." Frankel also noticed that those who had the financial capability to work with her for bespoke bridal designs were not always fluent in how to bring something new to the table that also felt inherently aisle-appropriate. "It's ok to not wear a placed lace dress, but so many women with phenomenal taste are afraid to take a risk in fear of being labeled passé, overdone or tacky. They are turning to super classic dresses, which can be lovely, but it's resulting in so much sameness. This fashion moment is supposed to be so personalized, and yet it's become so regular."

Tory Rust

Tory Rust

It was when Frankel realized that her bespoke business would soon turn into a conveyor belt of like-dresses that she decided to introduce a foundation for those who couldn't afford custom, and in turn, for her bespoke clients to riff off of. "I'm looking to bring all of the fashion-forward elements of ready-to-wear to the bridal experience," she says. "I want to give women something that I see them looking for, but that they're not finding–simple pieces that are technically beautiful, and investment pieces that you can carry beyond the wedding. Modern brides understand the notion that throwing a mid-thigh length silk wool coat over your ball gown for the ceremony is a fashion moment. Then, taking off the gown and buttoning the coat completely changes the look–it's now a mini coat dress for your after-party. I want to challenge brides to take it one step further; open up that mini dress/coat and wear it over jeans and a t-shirt for date night. My bride understands that being cool can also be classic."

Exclusive: See Every Look From Danielle Frankel's Debut Bridal Collection

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Frankel compiled her clients' desires for something different, personal, well-made and tailored for her debut Fall 2018 bridal collection. "My woman is a handsome woman, and I use the word woman because she's not a girl." Frankel also explained the difference between a handsome woman and a beautiful one: handsome women are inherently stylish, while beautiful women rest on their laurels. "She knows what she wants. She works. She's independent. She travels. There is something beautiful about her and in her lifestyle, but she’s practical. She doesn’t care that she is going to wear this look after her wedding. She’s sentimental, but realistic. I can imagine her putting on one of the pieces that she wore to her wedding and having that non-verbal exchange with her husband; she sees him recognize the piece from their wedding night and acknowledge that she is carrying it into their newlywed life, and he sees how happy the memory of it makes her."

Tory Rust

Tory Rust

While sentimental and sexy in it's own way, the notion of taking pieces from your wedding into married life doesn't exist for most bridal-wear. A bridal look, by definition, is a one-hit-wonder. Danielle Frankel's looks, on the other hand, are "pieces"–they're a meant to be styled. In her world, a wedding wardrobe is flexible. Items are sold with and without slips (one even comes with a lace bra as a layering piece) and slips come in different lengths and color ways. 'Layering tops' are designed to go under or over gowns, under coat dresses, and be accessorized with bridal silk and lace scarves. A-line gowns split open to be worn as tops over cigarette pants, and separates can be mixed and matched between the ceremony and the reception. The fun part is, once you've figured out how to style your looks for your wedding, there are also endless ways to play with your bridal pieces as you would with ready-to-wear later on.

Tory Rust

"It's also about smart dressing," she says. "It's about wearing something that fits and is properly tailored. This is a more transitional way of dressing, so much so that it’s season-less. I love the idea that there can be a bridal version of a power suit, and then you up the ante by pairing it with a layering piece and a veil, a jacket or a scarf. There’s that playful element as well–I want my brides to be able to throw their hands up and do the YMCA at 3a.m. and feel comfortable while doing it."

Tory Rust

It seems that Frankel gets her bride–or at least, she gets us. We want to dance and feel comfortable in silk wool and chiffon while we dance until the sun comes up. And who wouldn't want to invest in well-made, tailored pieces they can wear long into their life's next chapter? Frankel credits her place in life as to how and why she's so acutely tapped into what women want. "I'm 28 years old. I know I am a generation younger than the top bridal designers in the world, but I'm the age of the bride. In pricing meetings that comes up. If I am close in age to my clients and I wouldn’t spend x-amount on this or that piece, the price needs to be adjusted. I'm targeting the people I know." She's not afraid to talk numbers. Her entry price point is at around $4,000, and gowns go up to around $14,000 for her more dramatic silhouettes. Layering pieces, like her silk tops and scarves, come in at around $1,200, give or take. Having just designed her own gown for her own wedding, which she placed in her debut range and named Lou, Frankel gets what cool brides want and what they want to spend for it, without looking to alienate her bespoke customer.

Tory Rust

"So much of your wedding is what happens after your wedding, and so much artifice is placed on it," explains Frankel, who is also a newlywed. "I love my married life far more than I loved my actual wedding; I'm hard-pressed to believe that that was supposed to be the best night of my life, because it wasn’t." That concept of one only being able to experience looking or feeling their best for one night only seems void of hope to Frankel. That anticipation of wearing that precious piece again and again in different ways, however, has an element of sex appeal, whimsy and smart dressing she can get behind.

Carrie Goldberg is HarpersBAZAAR.com’s Weddings & Travel Director. She oversees the site’s BAZAAR Bride channel, travel & dining content, and styles fashion and bridal editorials for BAZAAR.com. When she’s not traveling, she spends her free time in her hometown–New York City–where there is no shortage of new places to shop, eat, drink, see and explore.

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