The Future of Bridal Design: The High School of Fashion Industries

Despite the fact that nearly 50% of the population of the world will some day purchase a bridal gown, the design of bridal fashions was never taught until the university level, & even then, mostly as an elective or an assignment within a design class. Even this is not a guarantee, as bridal design is not taught in every fashion design program. Yet, there was increasing interest in the genre, a fact that can’t be denied given the growing number of attendees & designers showing each season at New York Bridal Week. There are even several highly rated television programs that give their audiences behind the scenes looks into the bridal market. Yet, as noted above it’s more a matter of chance if a design student is ever taught the intricacies of the genre.

These facts were not lost on two New York fashion insiders, Robert di Mauro & Mara Urshel. The two long-time friends & fashion insiders were discussing the situation one day & concluded that something had to be done. Robert, an active board member of the High School of Fashion Industries, one of the only high schools in the country devoted to teach the art & craft of fashion as part of its core curriculum, & Mara, the President of the globally heralded bridal super store Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City, were just the duo to tackle the issue head on.

In short order, the Bridal Design Class was written, corporately funded, & added to the curriculum at the High School of Fashion Industries. Since its inception 14 years ago, the class has been a student favorite. “Since its inception of the program in 2009 with then HSFI Principal Hilda Nieto, the class has been a student favorite,” di Mauro states enthusiastically. He goes on to tell us that he’s “absolutely gobsmacked at the way the class has grown both in interest & creative output year-over-year over the last 16 cycles.”

A major surprise has also been the level of corporate interest that the class has earned. Fabric companies, lace resources, trim houses, & findings companies have all stepped up with donations, mentoring opportunities, internships, & even financial support to the students in the class. Robert has been instrumental over the years in building industry support for the high school via countless alliances, but he has counted the bridal program as one of his personal favorites. Mara has put the full weight of her iconic bridal salon behind the program & has offered the Kleinfeld showroom for the student presentations & collection critiques.

This year, the critics included Rachel Leonard (The Bridal Council), Madeline Gardner, Dorthy Silver & Mara Urshel (Kleinfeld Bridal), Flora Petakas (Union Square Couture), designer Sareh Nouri (Sareh Nouri), Ivette Manners (The New York Times), Andrea Pitter (Pantora Bridal), & Robert di Mauro (HSFI Board Member & IPP Founder).

There are several phases of the annual competition that lead up to the final presentations of 5 groups who each design a mini collection that is then presented to the judging panel. One winning team is chosen as the most creative, this year, that collection was entitled “L’Amour de Venus”, under the creative direction of Anderson Ambrosio, assisted by team members Huntersky Farrell Conlan, Natalie Zhu, Aindrilla Biswas, & Allison Isidro.

The other student groups who competed for top honors, but were awarded runner-up prizes were: “Ethereal Radiance”, under the creative direction of Katherine Hernandez, with team members Isabel Figuerao, Laila Rosales, Ashaitou Soumare, & ESME Roberson; “Veiled Jewel”, by Fraidy Perez, with team members Jamin Jarvis, Amayah Liz, Dayanna Garcia, & Chedivert Ortiz-Perez; “L’Amour du la Nuit”, designed by Abigail Quinteros, with team members Shylah Archbold, Letizia De Toma, Ashley Irizarry, Adrianny Guzman Rodriguez; “A European Affaire”, directed by Fayma Ria, with team members Isabel Hernandez-Perez, Frida Orellana, Dayana Terrero, Cristina Rodriguez. All of the student teams worked under the instruction of HSFI faculty member Mark Centeno.