Earlier this month, designer Janell Berté announced she had sold her business, Posh Bridal, and will be retiring. The announcement made me think back to 2007 and a photo shoot we did with her.
Two-thousand seven was shaping up to be Janell’s year. She had designed a slew of dresses (a bridal gown, bridesmaid frocks and debutante gowns) for the movie, Something New, that starred “it girl” Sanaa Lathan and dreamboat Simon Baker. Her French Revolution-inspired collection of wedding gowns had caught the attention of the editors of publications such as Elegant Bride, InStyle Weddings, Brides and Modern Bride during Bridal Fashion Week and their favorites appeared on the pages of the aforementioned magazines (and online) throughout the year.
Not bad for a girl who grew up in western Pennsylvania and became infatuated with sewing and design at the age of 11 as a result of taking a class offered by the Singer Sewing School. (She stayed with the classes through high school.) Her sewing talents also resulted in a National Scholastic Art Award. Her next stop was Drexel University, where she apprenticed with textile merchant Samuel Goldberg.
After graduating, Janell headed west, where she aimed to work for Disney (costume design) but instead became a designer at Elegance of Paris on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, where her custom cocktail dresses were in high demand. Moving to Newport Beach, Janell began to experiment with designing wedding gowns and ultimately shared one of her designs with a buyer from the Bullocks-Wilshire department store. Although impressed, the buyer expressed more interest in debutante gowns. However, the interaction led to bigger things, notably working with the bridal salons of I. Magnin, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and other upscale stores. Janell became a bride herself with her marriage to Richard Wood, whom she met on a blind date.
Upon realizing that most of her wholesale clients were on the East Coast, Janell and Richard decided to relocate. They explored 10 communities that offered easy access to New York and decided Lancaster would be their new home. In 1994, they purchased a building in the city and Janell set up shop, designing everything from bridal gowns to Michele Ridge’s inaugural gown.
Janell launched Posh Bridal, which is located in the Slaymaker building, in 2010. In addition to her own designs, she began championing the work of up-and-coming designers through Posh Bridal. Along the way, she also lent her talents to local theatre companies and became a mentor to young women who dreamed of design careers of their own. Lily Chow, who will be taking over Posh Bridal, is one of Janell’s mentees (she’s also genetically gifted, as her mother, Karen Chow, has been designing wedding gowns for 26 years).
A Rainy Day in October
The January issue is traditionally devoted to weddings and in 2007, we partnered with Janell to create a cover story that focused on her career and latest collection. We selected a day in October 2006 to do the photography. Janell secured the services of Ford model, Anna Khorosheva, and stylist Claudia Seyler to do hair and makeup. We also agreed that the gowns should be photographed on location and ultimately chose a city site, the historic Boehm’s Chapel in Willow Street, Pheasant Run Farm Bed & Breakfast and the New Danville Fire Company to serve as backdrops. The late Allan Holm would be doing the photography.
The gowns Janell chose for the shoot were from the French Revolution Collection (Marie Antoinette was her muse). Made of Italian silk and embellished with hand-embroidery and crystals, the gowns were exquisite.
Everything was humming along just fine. The sites were nailed down, the gowns were ready to go, and the weather was gorgeous. That is, until Monday, when a representative for the city location called to say the site would be unavailable due to a last-minute event. Not a huge problem. On Tuesday, however, the sun did not shine. Rain, buckets of it, was forecasted to last all day.
I arrived at Allan’s studio a nervous wreck. Janell, Anna and Claudia, however, were cool as cucumbers. The show had to go on and Janell assured us she would make it work. And, that she did. The rain actually worked to our advantage, as the misty conditions provided a beautiful backdrop for the pictures or we pivoted to interior spaces. (A traveling iron and ironing board ensured the gowns would remain perfectly crisp.) Anna even grabbed an umbrella and tiptoed around the graveyard at Boehm’s Chapel, alluding to the superstition that a little rain is good luck on a bride’s wedding day.
We wish Janell good luck as embraces this step in her life. Thanks for the memories!
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