Beyond bridal, for Sareh Nouri, materializes as a sparkling debut into luxury eveningwear, with bright monochromatic color palettes, glittering neutrals, pleated looks set in metallic hues, and floral patterns brandished in striking silhouettes.
The eponymously named Sareh Nouri, a female founded and led bridal brand that manufactures entirely in the U.S., began after the designing of Nouri’s own wedding gown, and to date has been sold to over 60 retailers worldwide, with a flagship salon at the Mall of Short Hills in New Jersey.
Related Articles
The launch of Sareh Nouri’s luxury eveningwear collection is in tandem with the brand’s latest bridal collection, La Dolce Vita, with inspirations informed by a trip to Italy that spurred romantic gowns flush with intricate laces, billowing skirts, and hand pleated draping. Nouri explained that each fabric, silhouette, and lace were hand selected to “entice an Italian experience.”
Here, Sareh Nouri talks to Fairchild Studio about her foray into eveningwear, leading a U.S. made brand, and how the company has evolved after a decade in the bridal business.
Fairchild Studio: How has the Sareh Nouri brand evolved over the course of its ten years in the business?
Sareh Nouri: My brand has evolved in the past 10 years in many ways. I have grown nationally with major luxury retailers and department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus. I have been able to grow by offering my collection to brides in many countries. Within the past year, I was able to open my own flagship salon and launched my new luxury evening wear collection.
With the opening of my flagship salon, I also began to offer VIP alterations for my brides at our fully expanded my design studio to accommodate and fully extend the bridal experience. One of the best decisions I have made was to manufacture our gowns in the U.S. Over the past 10 years, my design studio has grown significantly. We have been able to hire a talented production team with years of experience from other major brands. The Sareh Nouri brand is now a recognized luxury brand within the wedding industry and hopefully the brand will continue to grow with an opportunity for brides to wear our evening collection.
Fairchild Studio: As a female founded and led bridal brand that manufactures in the U.S., what are some of the major successes and challenges you’ve experienced throughout your design career?
S.N.: I attribute much of the major successes of my business to having my production here in the U.S. and being able to be a part of the full process from development, to cutting, sewing, quality control, etc. I can oversee everything and make sure that my brides and retailers are provided with white glove service. I work with amazing women-owned businesses that carry my collection and continue to support my brand and have helped grow my business.
Some of the challenges I experienced in my design career initially were related to finding the right candidates for production and I feel truly blessed to have the amazing team that currently works for my brand. COVID-19 was also a big challenge; however, my company was able to grow during the global pandemic.
Fairchild Studio: Tell us about La Dolce Vita. How did your experience in Italy inform the designs in this collection?
S.N.: This collection was inspired by my travels this summer to Sicily and Rome. The culture and fashion were a huge inspiration and brought many design elements to the gowns this season. I named all the gowns after some of the towns I visited while touring the region. Also, we work very closely with a mill in Italy, which provided my brand with some of the most luxurious laces and silks.
Fairchild Studio: What inspired the launch of your new luxury eveningwear collection? Are there any standout/favorite designs?
S.N.: The demand from mothers of the brides really drove the launch of my new luxury evening wear collection, which is also made in my design studio. After receiving many requests, I finally decided to launch evening gowns when I opened my flagship salon, and the collection became a huge success.
After this, several of my retailers picked up the evening collection for their salons. The evening gowns that truly stand out, for me, are the pieces with novelty silks seen on gowns such as Anita, Alice, Laylee (named after my daughter), and Rose.
Fairchild Studio: How has the bridal industry evolved? What are some of the emerging trends/changes that are currently impacting the market?
S.N.: The bridal industry evolved significantly due to the social media element. All the brides now get their inspiration from Instagram or Pinterest. Some of the new trends and changes are more fixated on unique styles and fabrics, which is why my brand really focuses on novelty laces.
Brides also want gowns that are modern yet traditional, and we focus on combining both. Along with bridal magazines, many brides now are inspired by Instagram and Pinterest posts. You see many real brides posting on social media, which other brides can relate to.
Fairchild Studio: What’s next Sareh Nouri?
S.N.: For bridal, I would like to continue growing the brand and expanding our manufacturing facility. For evening, to continue to grow nationally in the U.S. – reaching more retailers and department stores.