The Bridal Council on Wednesday night of New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week celebrated its 10-year anniversary at the Rainbow Room.
Established in 2016 by cofounders Louis Iacovelli, director; Michele Iacovelli, executive director, and Rachel Leonard, editorial director, the 501c3 nonprofit has spent the last decade advocating for and infrastructure-building bridal designers across the United States and around the world, which has helped establish bridal as a serious luxury fashion category both commercially and creatively.
“With New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week bringing so many of our members to New York from 14 different countries, it felt like the perfect moment to come together and raise a glass in celebration of this remarkable industry,” Michele Iacovelli said of the milestone event, which also celebrated the retirement of Leonard, who worked in the bridal industry for over 40 years.
You May Also Like
“I wanted to start by first thinking of Reem Acra and Carolina Herrera, because when we first started The Bridal Council 10 years ago, it was Reem and Carolina who really helped us to bring all the designers together,” she added at the event before Neil Brown, chief executive officer of Amsale, took the stage to say a few kind words and share memories of working with Leonard.
“Rachel, you spent two decades at Brides Magazine, guiding how bridal fashion was seen and understood, guiding young brides through one of the most important moments of their lives. You then helped cofound The Bridal Council, creating a true community for creators in this industry. You saw something, you acted on it and you’ve done that for many people — you recognize talent and you’ve given it a voice. Thank you for what you’ve done for our industry and for what you’ve done for our community,” Brown said.
Today, the council has 78 members, made up of 44 designer labels including Reem Acra, Justin Alexander Signature, House of Gilles, Amsale, Sareh Nouri and more; four accessory designers; menswear; retail media; individual, and sales organization members.
Over the last decade The Bridal Council has worked to elevate and unite the bridal industry through platforms including a “Wedding Weekend” partnership with Bloomingdale’s, which evolved into “Wedding Weekend on Madison Avenue,” a broader retail initiative along Madison Avenue, spanning 57th Street to 86th Street, and global television segments showcasing wedding planning education and bridal collections through partnerships with VideoFashion & Ovation TV and Sky TV, respectively.
But by far, its largest initiative was The Bridal Council’s development and leadership of the biannual New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week for American and international bridal designers in 2016, which Michele Iacovelli told WWD was started to “differentiate the ‘luxury’ designers who are mostly handcrafted/couture gowns from the ‘manufactured’ brands.”
“Working with the CFDA’s Fashion Calendar, organizing runway fashion shows, presentations, showroom appointments, media access and buyer engagement during two key markets each April and October. NYLBFW strengthened New York’s position as a global bridal capital while providing independent designers with infrastructure typically reserved for larger fashion houses,” The Bridal Council said in a statement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bridal Council continued to uplift the bridal industry through a partnership with Pullquest to enable designers to hold virtual appointments, process wholesale orders remotely and present collections online.
Following this in 2022, The Bridal Council started its ongoing partnership with WWD for its exclusive, biannual special bridal issue for New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week. In addition, to increase customer awareness, the organization developed the Love-n-Lace online destination that enables brides to see The Bridal Council designers’ collections, learn about each brand and connect with their retail partners.
“Thank you for believing. The future of bridal is right here in this room, so it’s up to us to create the next 10 years,” Louis Iacovelli said before the celebrations continued into the night.
