Katerina Bocci's bridal designs take her to TikTok, reality TV

Jay Davis is a reporter covering restaurants, retail and small business issues for Crain’s Detroit Business. Prior to joining Crain’s in 2020, Jay held roles covering prep sports, local government, and education.

Longtime fashion designer Katerina Bocci's reach has expanded further than she ever thought it could. She's designed thousands of bridal gowns out of her Shelby Township studio and has turned into a social media superstar with 2.4 million TikTok followers.

The 49-year-old Albanian immigrant also has appeared on TLC's "Darcey & Stacey," a spin-off of the "90 Day Fiancé" reality show about twin sisters looking for love. Bocci designed Stacey Silva's wedding dress and Darcey Silva's maid of honor dress, traveling to Florida to style the sisters for their big day.

Bocci, a past Crain's 40 under 40 honoree, in a conversation with Crain's discussed the TV show, her social media stardom and the state of her design business, Katerina Bocci Bridal.

The following conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

I'll be honest with you, the nature of the business has changed a lot the last five to six years. We've focused on being one-on-one with the customers. We used to sell dresses we had in the stores, now everything is custom made. People can create whatever their heart desires. A wedding gown is a gown of a lifetime. Brides prefer to have something unique, different, that matches their personality. The client gets to choose everything. As an I artist, there was a point where I wasn't being fulfilled. When I'd do trunk shows or sell to stores, people would ask for more customizations. The brides would choose their dress by choice, not by chance. They pick the color, silhouette, fabric, shape, neckline. A bride is a princess. We've produced thousands of custom dresses the past five to six years.

We're producing less dresses, but the ticket is much higher because we're working directly with the customer. Money wise, it's a little better than before.

I see every client because it's important for me to give my opinion. Certain parts of the year we have three or four employees. Some parts of the year we have 10.

The first thing I do is sit with a client to get to know them. It's important for me to understand their background, their wants, the location of the wedding, the venue. There's a lot we take into consideration before we get to the design process. Once we do that, we get that inspiration and put the bride in a couple of silhouettes we have at the shop. I carry a huge collection of all kinds of fabrics imported from all over the world. I wrap the client up in different shades of colors. Then I do my sketching. That first meeting is a good two hours. Once they commit we do the pricing and schedule the first appointment where the dress is halfway made. The second fitting is the fun fitting. You see how the dress is pinned, look at flowers, designs. They become a part of giving birth to this beautiful artwork.

I've been showing off a lot of reality: real clients, who we are, how we do things. Sometimes it's messy. We're not always dolled up at work. People love to connect. Every potential client comes in with a different personality, different wants. We've kept it real (on TikTok). I created a concept where brides could have jackets with sleeves, strapless dresses, detachable pieces. I posted the video on TikTok. It went viral and got almost 50 million views.

I haven't kept track. The following has always been a factor when clients come in. We have brides come in from Canada, Chicago, Ohio, Florida, New York City, California. I think that's a pretty good confirmation that social media has done its job.

I'm Albanian born. Stacey's husband (Florian) is from Albania. Everybody gets to know the names in this group of successful Albanians in America. We were approached by Florian and introduced to Stacey over FaceTime. She said she was obsessed with my work after seeing some of my dresses in New York. She said her dream was to be dressed in one of my designs.

It was nice to see the dynamics of the couple, the excitement they had. Stacey wanted to have a dream wedding. It was fun. Our work was well-received by the producers. We flew to Miami to work with the bride. We met with Stacey online for the first consultations, showed her sketches and she approved. Having all those cameras on you can make things emotional. You don't know if she'll like it. Putting yourself and your work out there for the public to see isn't easy. Being on social media, I've been pretty open, but allowing things to be seen and introduced to the world was emotional. Being a part of the show was beautiful. They invited us to their wedding in Connecticut. We dressed (Stacey) up. Her sister wanted a Katerina Bocci for her maid of honor gown. We had a phenomenal experience working with TLC. It was featured on all their social media and in People magazine. It was beautifully accepted.

As an immigrant coming to this country, all I had was $500 and a dream. I have to admit the first investment I made when I came to the U.S. was to buy a sewing machine and an iron. That was 20 years ago. Now to be featured on national TV, and in demand, it made me emotional. I have three daughters. I always let them know that anything they want to reach in life can be had if they work hard, be honest and be good people. The first thing I thought about watching the show was, "How do I look? Did I speak OK?" I've only always wanted to create things and leave a good path in life. I have two daughters who work with me. I want to be able to share what I have and leave it behind for other people to carry on.

Jay Davis is a reporter covering restaurants, retail and small business issues for Crain’s Detroit Business. Prior to joining Crain’s in 2020, Jay held roles covering prep sports, local government, and education.