In 2017, I walked into the small studio of Danielle Frankel’s newly launched bridal label. The first collection included unconventional wedding dresses, like a white fitted blazer dress with a studded belt and lace thrown over the shoulders like a shawl, or an asymmetrical strapless dress with differently sized lace strips hanging from the waist.
At the time, I hadn’t seen anything like it or come across a brand that made the kind of unconventional wedding dresses I could envision for myself. When I posted photos of the studio visit to my Instagram, I immediately received a handful of direct messages from friends and followers saying they wanted to walk down the aisle like that. Everyone asked about the designer and then remarked that they couldn’t believe they hadn’t discovered her sooner. In my article—the first to feature the brand—I called Danielle Frankel the best bridal brand you’ve never heard of.
Now, almost seven years later, everyone knows Danielle Frankel – not only by sight, but also by name. She is not only a wedding dress designer, but The Wedding dress designers for cool girls who want something special on their big day.
When I re-enter her showroom in early August, it’s a completely new space with at least 2,000 more square feet. The walls are covered in pale green paint and the floors are covered in golden yellow carpets. Racks of clothing are everywhere, illuminated by the light shining through the windows. Glass cases filled with vintage ceramics and photos are displayed in the middle of certain rooms, making it seem like a time capsule filled with wedding paraphernalia from every era. “None of this was here when we first met,” Frankel says, laughing as she gives me a tour of the space, which features several dressing rooms for brides-to-be, before walking over to a tiled desk and noting, “So—this definitely wasn’t here.”
A row of white heels and flats sit on the table. I’m one of the first to see her newly launched wedding shoes – which are officially available today – in person. When I ask her how she came to the decision to enter the shoe space, Frankel responds bluntly: “It just makes sense!”
That’s right. In 2021, Manolo Blahnik collaborated with Frankel on a hugely popular bridal collection that got brides thinking: FinallyBut this time, Frankel wanted the offer to be more permanent. “Either (the customer) already buys the dress from us, or it’s also an opportunity for people who don’t wear us at their wedding to get a piece of the brand.”
The inaugural collection includes 10 new styles designed in the New York atelier and made in Italy. The pair that immediately draws me in is the hero model, the Kennedy pump, whose satin detail peels away from the toe as if it were being taken off. The inspiration was a photo of an elegant neckline cascading from the shoulders.
Danielle Frankel’s universe is all about the delicate feeling of getting dressed and slipping into a dress that feels like it could only exist in a dream. With this new launch, Frankel wanted to recreate that same feeling for your feet.
“We want women to feel beautiful. That is the most important thing,” she says. “Beauty, grace and elegance are the main focus of my designs. Apart from that, I am concerned with modernity into it.” She pauses for a moment to note that while she doesn’t like that word, she doesn’t know how else to describe it. “There’s something so old about what we do, but also something so new. It’s the balance of the two that works really well together. We use some really old-fashioned techniques and design practices with a new, fresh and meaningful eye.”
Her eye is exactly why her shoe collection is different from anything else on the market. I had never seen anything like the Kennedy pump, but I had also never seen anything like the Nala pump, which is covered in ruffled satin, or the Beatrice ballet flats with a Coco heel, which are covered in hand-painted floral blooms. Frankel slips on a pair of the flats and notices that more and more brides are opting for more understated footwear. “And they even look good with what I’m wearing!” she says of the shoes.
She imagines that some customers will only buy the shoes to wear on special occasions other than their wedding. And even if those customers wear the shoes to their wedding, they can be worn over and over again much more easily than one of her dresses.
So, Danielle Frankel may no longer be the best bridal designer you’ve never heard of, but she’s certainly still the coolest one you know.
Danielle Frankel’s bridal shoe collection is now available for pre-order at daniellefrankelstudio.com and will be available both online and at select retailers beginning in early October 2024. Prices range from $790 to $1,190.
Tara Gonzalez is senior fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Previously, she was a style writer at InStyleFounding editor for trade at shine, and fashion editor at More desirable.
