If you’ve never heard of the Spanish design company Pronovias, you’re about to know them now. The company started as a family business and is now dominating the bridal market around the world.
Today, Pronovias makes high-quality, intricate gowns for brides of all sizes, budgets and styles. With a powerful duo between the CEO and artistic director, this bridal brand is unstoppable.
How It All Began
Pronovias started as a humble family business founded by Alberto Palatchi Benveniste in 1922. The company was initially a fabric shop in Barcelona called El Suizo. From the start, high-society brides came to the shop for hand-created wedding dresses.
Fast forward to 1964, the company changed its name to Pronovias, which is Spanish for “for bridegroom”, and launched its first bridal collection in Spain. Its first official fashion show followed four years later in 1968 and the design company became a sensation.
Getting Into the Bridal Industry
Courtesy: townandcountrymag.com
Eventually, Pronovias took the world by storm by expanding into Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the company entered into the American and Asian markets and by 2004 renowned designers such as Hannibal Laguna, Lidia Delgado, and Miguel Palaco were brought in.
The company’s flagship store opened its doors in New York’s fashion district in 2008. During this time, Manuel Mota was working as the creative director until 2013 when he passed away at the age of 46.
He had worked for Pronovias for 23 years and his creative contributions and forward thinking is one of the reasons that Pronovias Fashion Group became well-known across the globe.
After Mota passed, Herve Moreau took over as artistic director and has been with Pronovias since 2013. Moreau, the Nice-born French couturier, was interested in bridal fashion at a young age and loved to draw sketches of wedding dresses.
He studied fashion design in Cannes and worked as a designer for Jean-Louis Scherrer for 15 years. Before coming to Pronovias, he worked at the high-fashion firm Matsuo Fashion House in Japan as their head of bridal and cocktail collections for three years.
The Empire Today
Courtesy: thecut.com
Moreau has been an integral player in expanding the house of Pronovias to the multiple brands the company owns today—including evening wear and bridal collections. The company designs over 600 dresses each year and are known for their fine fabrics and lavish designs that evoke timeless elegance with a sexy, flattering fit.
Each dress is made by hand and takes up to 120 hours to finish—the intricate details and embroidery allow each bride to feel like they’re in a totally unique creation. Gowns start at $2,200 and can be found in over 163 stores in 105 countries.
Along with Moreau, Pronovias is working under another strong leader. Amandine Ohayon was announced as the new chief executive officer in 2018. Ohayon is no stranger to the fashion and beauty industry.
She was previously the managing director for L’Oreal Luxe, UK and Ireland. Although the company has a strong presence in southern Europe, Ohayon plans for Pronovias to be the global leader in luxury bridal fashion.
The brand is focusing on its expansion in northern Europe, North America and China where Ohayon sees the most opportunity for growth.
Courtesy: popsugar.co.uk, theknot.com
Speaking of growth, the company has spent a lot of time focusing their brands on inclusivity and sustainability—ideals that its leaders are passionate about. The group partnered with model and body activist Ashley Graham at the beginning of 2020 and launched a new curve-inclusive wedding dress collection.
Ashley Graham x Pronovias features gowns up to US size 34 and range from $900-$3200. The 16-piece collection is made of beautiful silk-satin, lace and tulle dresses and is available in Pronovias boutiques and wholesale partners worldwide.
Pronovias Group is also making a big push towards eco-friendly designs. The brand just recently launched the #WeDoEco collection of 15 sustainable wedding dresses. The gowns are made of eco-friendly fabrics, zippers, beading and even hangers.
The international brand hopes the new eco-friendly designs will make up 50 percent of their collection by 2025.
This is just one of the company’s efforts towards lessening environmental waste. Pronovias joined forces with the UK-based non-profit Brides Do Good last year. The two companies are encouraging brides to recycle their dresses and donate them for charitable purposes under the program #MyDressxHerFuture.
The program also donates its proceeds to gender equality organizations that empower women and children.
Our Fave Pronovias Looks
Courtesy: pronovias.com
We love that the Pronovias website shows off their new arrivals and labels which ones aren’t in store yet but coming soon. It’s definitely a great tool for brides to see what styles they like. Each gown evokes romance and elegance and represents totally different styles from sexy chic to fairytale princess.
The v-neckline on the long-sleeve Mikado dress is amazing and the structure of the dress is super classy. The sexy mermaid wedding dress is in a category of its own and with the thigh-high split and full chapel train you’re sure to turn a few heads down the aisle.
Both ballgowns are absolutely dreamy with the delicate embroidered tulle but the different necklines give off a totally different feel between the two gowns. The cathedral-length veil on the “Ernestine” ballgown really seals the deal for a full-on bridal look.
Courtesy: pronovias.com
Pronovias also has a great line of cocktail and special event dresses! Whether it’s for the mother-of-the-bride, your bridal party or as a wedding guest, you’re sure to find something gorgeous that makes you feel fabulous.
Mama is totally working that red off-the-shoulder cocktail dress and that black jumpsuit brings the WOW factor for sure. Looking for something a little more fitted? The fit and flare mermaid-style crepe gown with the asymmetrical taffeta ruffle is super elegant and frames the model’s body super well.
But our favorite from this collection—the whimsical cloud-like sky blue tulle dress. We are in love with the transparent layered overskirt and ruffles around the neck and shoulders. OH-SO DREAMY!
Courtesy: insider.com, vulture.com
Celebrity brides are also big fans of Pronovias! In 2017, Maria Menounos pulled off a surprise wedding ceremony in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. She said “I do” to her longtime beau Kevin Undergaro in a long-sleeved lace Pronovias gown.
Menounos said the first time she tried on the classy-chic Randala gown tears came to her eyes because she knew she had found her dress. Actress Gina Rodriguez went a totally different route in an ivory satin wedding dress for her 2019 nuptials.
The super-flattering mermaid style fit Rodriguez like a glove and worked so well with her elegant outdoor ceremony. The cowl neckline and low back with the button details were just extra-perfect additions.
We’re so excited to see more Pronovias designs in the near future, especially with their expansion into the U.S. market. For now, we’ll keep scrolling through all of the gorgeous gowns online!
