The name Randy Fenoli may be new for some in Central Europe, but this bridal fashion expert has won the hearts of millions in the United States with his appearance in the original reality television hit series “Say Yes to the Dress” filmed at Kleinfeld’s Bridal in Manhattan, New York.
As a fashion director and bridal consultant on the show, Randy‘s fun personality and ability to advise and calm down stressed-out brides captivated audiences across the country. Brides should know that his talent is not just about having a good eye for dress fit – Randy Fenoli is a truly gifted bridal fashion designer.
Bridal Times had the great pleasure to catch up with Randy at the launch of his Silver Springs Collection at the Bridal Event Amsterdam 2019 to learn more about him and what we can expect from his new collection of the Randy Fenoli Bridal brand.
Coming from humble beginnings, Randy Fenoli was raised on a farm in Illinois as the last of seven children to busy working parents. With parents on-the-go, it’s highly likely for a child to get into some mischief! But it was only when Randy disobeyed his mother, that his true passion came to life.
“My mother bought a sewing machine since she wanted to learn how to sew. She put the sewing machine in my room and said, ‘Do not touch my sewing machine. Do not touch my good fabrics and good scissors!’ She would try to sew and my mother could literally not put a hem in a terry cloth towel to save her life! I would watch her and couldn’t understand why she can‘t sew! It‘s so easy!” said Randy with a smile.
“So she went to work one day and I laid out some fabric, cut out a pattern, sewed it, ironed it and hung it on the door frame. My mother came home from work that night and asked ‘Where did this dress come from?’ And I told her, ‘I made it!’ She put the dress on, it fit like a glove and she wore it to work the next day. The day after she came home with a pattern and said, ‘Can you make me this skirt?’ Randy reflects back on that time and said, “My mother was so proud that I was sewing clothes for her for work and that is really how I started sewing.”
Randy continued on sewing in the early 80’s -90’s by making costumes and got his next big break in a bridal fashion contest while a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
“All the teachers knew how much I loved evening wear and how passionate I was, and they allowed me to enter a bridal fashion contest. We were supposed to design a mood board, a bridal design and bridesmaids design. Me being the overachiever, I did 5 mood boards, 5 bridal designs and 5 bridesmaids designs. The judges came in and they were supposed to choose the top 10, and they actually chose 5 of my designs not knowing it was the same student,” exclaimed Randy.
“One of the judges at the time was Viviane Dessy Diamond of Dessy Creations Bridesmaids Dresses and her husband Paul Diamond of the Diamond Collection Bridal Company. I was living in the dorms and they called me and told me that they would like to offer me a job as designer for the the Diamond and Dessy creations. I literally graduated on a Friday and I started work on Monday. In 4 months I had 32 dresses, 16 going down 2 different runways.”
Photo: Randy Fenoli Presents Silver Springs Collection, BEA Event 2019
Randy admits at the time, he had actually never been to a wedding before and believes this opened him up to more creativity.
“I looked in the bridal magazines and I could see that there was something missing. So when I began to create and the gowns hit the runway, everyone was saying, ‘This is so different! So unique. It‘s fresh!’ Randy adds,“I think in this case, ignorance was bliss. It helped and it gave me a different perspective on bridal.”
The following years Randy designed bridal for the Diamond Collection and made a change to New Orleans, Louisiana shortly after the September 11th attacks. His plan was to open his own “one-of- kind” bridal shop, but then Hurricane Katrina hit.
Randy says understandably, “Nobody was interested in a wedding dress when the people affected by the hurricane were struggling to keep a roof over their heads.”
This unexpected turn in life events put Randy career goals on hold and stopped him in his tracks of opening his own shop. But then he got a call from Kleinfeld Bridal back in New York, offering him a new job as fashion director. Randy decided to take the offer and return to the Big Apple, not knowing that he was about to become a television star.
“When I started at Kleinfeld, it was the last day they were filming the season of “Say Yes to the Dress”. When they picked up season 2, they asked me to be on the show. And I was like, ‘No, No, No.’ Randy waves his hands. ‘I don’t even watch reality TV shows. There is no way I am going to do this!’ They eventually tricked me into the show and 8 seasons later, it’s the longest running series in the network’s history.”
When thinking about his time on the show, Randy says, “I am so proud of the show and what it has become. I think the show is brilliant since it’s not just “fluff” and wedding dresses. I think we put a spotlight on the family unit. The father who is giving away his little princess, the mother worried about the budget, the sister that is jealous, the gay friend who thinks he knows everything about fashion and knows nothing!”
“It’s the only time I can think of in a person’s life when they go to make a purchase and all these people have an opinion. When you want to go buy something, you buy it. A house, a car, pair of shoes. But suddenly you want to purchase a wedding dress and everyone says, ‘I don’t like that, I don’t like this’. Where else does this happen? It’s so bizarre!” exclaimed Randy.
Despite the success of being a fashion consultant on the television show, Randy could not forget his true passion of designing wedding gowns. Randy says with pride, “I wanted to get back into designing and here I am today doing what I love.”
When asked about his newly launched Silver Springs Collection, Randy says with wide expressive eyes, “My inspiration comes from brides. Whether she wants to be sexy, traditional, a Cinderella princess or Bohemian. If you look at my collection, you will see it’s very diverse. I don‘t have one look. I try to make all of my dresses look different and I want it be affordable luxury.”
Randy adds, “I don’t design for me, I design for the bride. I don’t like to force fashion on women, I want to give them what they are looking for. I want to make them feel beautiful and I want them to be able to afford it and not come in and say, “I can’t afford your dresses.” I want them to feel like they are getting the most beautiful gown in the world and not break the bank. To have a bride step on the pedestal in front of a mirror and put on a dress and feel beautiful, sometimes for the very first time, and she gets all teary-eyed and she feels pretty, that moment for me, it‘s the most exciting moment in my life. To make a person feel beautiful. I am so blessed to be able to do that.”
On the behalf of Bridal Times, we would like to thank Randy Fenoli for this inspiring interview.
Randy Fenoli will present the Silver Springs Collection from Randy Fenoli Bridal onsite at the upcoming Valmont Barcelona Bridal Week.
For more information on Randy Fenoli, visit www.randyfenolibridal.eu