Great escape from cows brings Fenoli to Jozi
“UNLESS you’re Elizabeth Taylor, you haven’t done this eight times before,” says Randy Fenoli about the kind of advice he’d give to brides-to-be. The Say Yes to the Dress TV host has helped thousands of brides to pick their “perfect” wedding dress on the reality show which profiles brides at a boutique in New York.
Fenoli will be bringing his pearls of wisdom to South African shores. Fans will get a chance at a personal audience with the beauty and fashion expert when he hosts presentations at the Bridal Fair SA next month.
“When I was asked to come to South Africa I was excited to think that I could present a show to brides who didn’t have it in their budget to travel to New York. I could bring [them] the ‘Head to Hem’ makeover.”
The Florida-based designer was born on a cattle ranch in southern Illinois, and in a bid to escape the fields and cows, secretly sewed his first garment at the age of nine. “My mother bought a sewing machine and stored it in my bedroom. I was told not to touch it,” said Fenoli. But he defied orders. “One day when she went to work, I made her a dress without any guidance. She wore it to work the next day!”
His big break came when he entered a competition while studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. His entry was so impressive that he was offered a job at bridal house The Diamond Collection. The award-winning designer eventually became fashion director at New York’s Kleinfeld Bridal Salon.
These days, millions of viewers tune in each week to see him in a series of shows. He has also acted as a fashion commentator at the Academy Awards.
The upcoming visit will be his second to South Africa and this time he hopes to take in more of the sights: “The excitement of Sandton, a true safari in the Pilanesberg, an overnight pit stop in Houghton in Johannesburg and a whirlwind trip to the Cape . . . I think I may need a vacation from my vacation.”
The Bridal Fair SA runs at Montecasino from May 27 to 29