Bella Pietro
Bella Pietro is a designer who has left an undeniable mark on the alternative fashion industry.
As someone who was new to the New York City fashion scene two years ago, I was blithely unaware of her impact. It wasn’t until my friend Sydney, much more in the know than I, invited me to her debut bridal couture show at the Tribeca Synagogue that I understood the intoxicating effect she had on an alternative, fashion-obsessed niche of New Yorkers who love and miss her dearly.
At that time, I didn’t care who was presenting or what the show was about. I was just excited to be able to wear a handmade piece of mine in a room full of people who cared about fashion. Unfortunately, my ignorance and tight schedule prevented me from really doing the research that I wanted to on Bella’s designs, but I do love a good surprise, and I was blown away with what I saw when we got to the gates of the Tribeca synagogue.
Before we sat down, we faced a massive line full of authentically dressed people and what are normally traditional wooden banisters and ledges wrapped in black and white chiffon. In my black fringe matching set, I had suddenly become the least dressed person in the room - when normally I had felt too flamboyant in my outfits to be fully comfortable and sometimes even ashamed of my lack of formality. As we stepped inside the show, I remember seeing people with distressed outfits, sexy skin showing despite it being a cold February evening, and makeup deemed a fireable offense in my then-corporate role at Harry Winston. I suddenly felt not only understood but also embraced by peers I had never met.
My eyes nervously shifted around the impossibly high ceilings when the music started and the show was officially underway. By now, I knew it wasn’t going to be a traditional bridal show, but my notions of conventionality were pushed farther than ever before. Bella Pietro took the traditional white flowy bridal dress and made it completely her own, appealing to a growing number of people who don’t identify with being just a beautiful bride. There is something so much deeper than “bridal” in these pieces, a thirst for more than the mere title of wife, a desire to express uniqueness by showing flash and style for the sake of flash and style. In one standout piece, Bella and her team embroidered a giant hole in the heart with red crystal appliqués onto pure white dresses, conveying a loss of purity through the illusion of bloodshed.
She juxtaposed this depth through her love of a fun hat. Deep symbolism does not always make a striking piece. There is so much formality and rigidity around the dress code of a wedding - why not be a bride with bunny ears. or one with an avant-garde lattice headpiece? The idea of taking the stick out of the backside of centuries-long traditions is the mark of a true innovator and artist. Fashion should be fun, and Bella used materials like black ostrich feathers, giant pussybows, and black reflective fringe to convey a sense of Gatsby-like whimsy while still keeping things fashion-forward through impeccable construction. Bella’s show was remarkable to me because it left the audience with more questions than answers. These questions are not necessarily about the pieces themselves, but with why they are considered alternative to begin with. Why is it considered subversive to have a bride wear pants, or show a little bit of thigh? Could the modern-day bride still be beautiful with scarlet corsetry and visible garters?
Bella Pietro’s impact as an artist will never be forgotten. She empowered her community to defy society’s norms and traditions to push the envelope and ooze radiant feminine energy. Though I never personally knew Bella, her organization of an event that celebrates fashion in all of its forms will always hold meaning to me. Since this bridal debut, I have found my way to many rooms where people love fashion, but none so devoted to artistry and brilliance as Bella’s.
