Fashion People Podcast: “Bride Wars and Tennis Scores”
Host: Lauren Sherman
Guest: Danielle Frankel (bridal designer)
Date: August 29, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode delves deep into the modern business of bridal fashion with renowned designer Danielle Frankel. Lauren Sherman explores how Danielle is rethinking the bridal experience, merging high-fashion sensibilities with meticulous craftsmanship, and building a responsive brand in a rapidly evolving landscape. The conversation covers Danielle’s operational philosophy, her path from Vera Wang to her own atelier, adaptation to modern client needs, production processes, and her vision for the future of both her brand and bridalwear at large.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Current Fashion & Tennis News Recap
Starts: 01:57
- Lauren kicks off with a roundup of recent fashion news: Travis Kelce’s engagement and American Eagle collab, the Venice Film Festival, and drama from the US Open (Yelena Ostapenko vs. Taylor Townsend, Coco Gauff’s New Balance kit).
- Observations on the intersection of celebrity, style, and fashion commerce.
- Lauren shares insider gossip: Maya Joint’s strong tournament style (Elite 11 and Red Bull sponsorship), Venus Williams’ custom looks.
- Brief discussion of Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massanet’s lawsuit against Eric Torstenson.
Quote:
“People were complaining that you can’t buy our queen Coco Gauff’s New Balance kit. New Balance, you need to get on that.”
— Lauren Sherman [05:03]
2. Introduction: Danielle Frankel & The Bridal Experience
Starts: 09:27
- Lauren introduces Danielle Frankel as a groundbreaking voice in bridal fashion.
- Notes Danielle’s commitment to the bridal showroom experience and recent openings in New York and Los Angeles.
Quote:
“It’s really like if you were going to a fancy fashion boutique and you’re on the vic floor, that’s the experience for every single person that goes into Danielle’s floor.”
— Lauren Sherman [08:39]
3. Danielle’s Daily Routine and Office Culture
Starts: 09:41
- Danielle shares her uniquely “fashion people” breakfast: poached eggs, toast, and an IV drip delivered at home.
- Danielle typically works in her Garment District studio, surrounded by 11 factories handling different specialization areas in production.
Quote:
“I go into an office almost every day, unless I’m traveling...when I’m at the studio, I’m really in every department and kind of like, you know, going from place to place...”
— Danielle Frankel [11:12]
4. Inside Danielle’s Production Model
Starts: 12:37
- 90% of Danielle’s garments are produced in New York, some in Italy/India.
- Each of 11 factories specializes (e.g., draping, tailoring).
- Extreme attention to cleanliness and quality control due to ivory fabric use—“Danielle Frankel ivory” is a proprietary shade, with over 20 shades in her repertoire.
- Rejects standard “one shade fits all” approach; instead, carefully mixes multiple ivories in a single garment for richness.
Quote:
“I actually like to mix ivories, because sometimes people think that you have to have one specific shade...I think that you need several different shades of ivory within the same garment and...done in a very specific way...”
— Danielle Frankel [15:00]
5. From Vera Wang to Her Own Atelier: The Start of Danielle’s Bridal Business
Starts: 18:32
- Danielle reflects on learning her craft at Vera Wang and why she chose bridal as her creative medium.
- Lays out two founding pillars: technical, high-level craft and a bespoke, one-to-one experiential service for each bride.
Quote:
“I like to say that we are a fashion company and our medium is bridal.”
— Danielle Frankel [35:27]
6. Challenging the Traditional Bridal Model
Starts: 22:26
- Lauren prompts Danielle to contrast traditional bridal business with her own model:
- Most bridal brands: seasonal collections, trunk shows, long delivery times (up to a year), and rigid rules.
- Danielle’s model: direct-to-consumer focus, can try and purchase new collections right away, bulk cutting for new styles (unusual in bridal), openness to customizations (40% of business).
- Adapts “fast fashion” production lessons to luxury, enabling faster turnaround and flexibility.
Quote:
“The way that we operate is we try to throw all of the bridal rules out the window...we want our new collections to be what the brides are going to currently purchase.”
— Danielle Frankel [23:57]
Quote:
“You have to be obsessed with how your customer is shopping...you don't want to turn away a client who has a wedding in three months...”
— Danielle Frankel [27:33]
7. Building and Retaining a Strong Team
Starts: 29:21
- Danielle’s approach to hiring: aligns candidates with her vision of building a future “heritage” brand (not just a trend-centric label).
- Prioritizes passion, adaptability, and understanding of both bridal and high-fashion standards.
- Mix of internal growth and outside hiring (even from competitors).
Quote:
“I see this as a heritage brand in the making, meaning we’re not there yet, but we will be.”
— Danielle Frankel [30:42]
8. Bridging Bridal and Fashion Worlds
Starts: 33:36, resumes 35:27
- Danielle is deliberate in seeking credibility from both the bridal industry and high-fashion worlds (e.g., showing at CFDA Fashion Fund, sometimes at Bridal Fashion Week).
- Emphasis on in-person, tactile experiences with fabrics and construction—her ideal client is knowledgeable and discerning.
Quote:
“We need the fashion part and element of this because at the end of the day, our client is a fashion woman...she has a very discerning eye.”
— Danielle Frankel [36:04]
9. Wholesale, Ancillary Product Categories, and Focus on the Bride
Starts: 37:36
- Wholesale is mostly through bridal boutiques and select high-end retailers (Net-a-Porter was first to pick up her bridal collection).
- Business remains intensely focused on the bride herself rather than mothers or guests—plans to expand come “when we are fully equipped.”
- Ancillary lines (loungewear, headpieces, footwear) are carefully positioned to support lifecycle events around weddings and beyond.
Quote:
“At the end of the day, when you’re a bridal label, you’re in the business of life cycles...it’s a part of the brand’s narrative and story to expand on life cycle.”
— Danielle Frankel [42:20]
10. Pricing and Value in Luxury Bridal
Starts: 43:26
- Pricing determined by true cost and value (labor, production details), not arbitrary market factors.
- Acknowledges variance of market expectations due to the phenomenon of ultra-high vs. ultra-low pricing—wants customers to understand the garment’s value.
Quote:
“We really try to look at the value of the garment...there’s a lot that goes into every garment and that’s really going to dictate the price associated with it.”
— Danielle Frankel [44:49]
11. Heritage, Family Business, and Long-Term Vision
Starts: 48:40
- Danielle’s husband Josh joined as CEO, bringing business acumen to match her creative leadership; complete trust and non-overlapping roles.
- The business is run as a family, focused on slow, intentional growth, responding to real customer behavior.
Quote:
“Having a partner that you almost have nothing to do with what their day to day is...but then you get to go home with them at night...is such a luxury.”
— Danielle Frankel [50:29]
12. Future of Bridal: Customization, Individuality, and Agility
Starts: 54:15
- Danielle predicts the next wave in bridal will focus on highly individualized, bespoke experiences—moving away from trends to what each bride truly wants.
- The business strives to balance one-to-one, highly tailored experiences with scalability and operational excellence.
Quote:
“I think that customizing and doing things that are so bespoke for that particular client is going to be the next big thing that we as a company have to conquer.”
— Danielle Frankel [55:36]
- Lauren and Danielle agree that creativity now must extend to the business and operational side, not just product.
Quote:
“It’s so much fun to be creative in the business because if you’re a creative person, it’s not just about what the product looks like. It’s about everything surrounding it.”
— Danielle Frankel [58:10]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “[Our experience] is really like if you were going to a fancy fashion boutique and you’re on the vic floor, that’s the experience for every single person.” — Lauren Sherman [08:39]
- “I like to say that we are a fashion company and our medium is bridal.” — Danielle Frankel [35:27]
- “We want to keep up with her [the bride]...so if we notice that brides are starting to ask us questions about one thing in particular, then we will take that very seriously and start to think about it.” — Danielle Frankel [52:43]
- “I think that the issue right now with the weddings world as a whole is that you’re seeing a lot of sameness...how can we do things individualized?” — Danielle Frankel [56:01]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- [01:57] — Industry news and tennis-fashion commentary
- [09:27] — Guest introduction; Danielle Frankel’s boutique philosophy
- [12:37] — Production model, factory overview, and signature ivory
- [18:32] — Danielle’s background and starting her brand
- [22:26] — The traditional bridal model vs. Danielle’s approach
- [29:21] — Danielle’s hiring philosophy and building her team
- [35:27] — Bridging high-fashion and bridal worlds
- [37:36] — Wholesale and focus on the bride
- [42:12] — Loungewear, ancillary business segments
- [43:26] — Thoughts on pricing and luxury value
- [48:40] — Family-run structure and business planning
- [54:06] — Adaptability and anticipating bridal market shifts
- [55:36] — The future of weddings: going bespoke and individual
Final Takeaways
- Danielle Frankel’s approach is defined by a refusal to follow old bridal business rules—she’s built an agile, client-centric operation focused on both craft and experience.
- The future of bridal is personalization, cross-pollination with fashion, and carefully scaling one-to-one service.
- The brand is consciously focused on heritage, sustainability, and building for the long term, all while maintaining a tactile, luxury experience at every stage.
Fashion People releases new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the real conversations happening in the fashion world.