Bridal designer Danielle Frankel says her 86-year-old grandmother is somewhat of a local celebrity in the Los Angeles area. “This isn’t my first interview, you know,” Sandi Reiss tells me over Zoom. “She gets embarrassed, but if I’m out shopping and have the opportunity to say that my granddaughter is Danielle Frankel, I do.”
Frankel, whose full name is Danielle Frankel Hirsch, launched her namesake label in 2017 after working at Marchesa and Vera Wang. In a short time, she managed to carve out a niche in an industry that can often feel stale; and by 2020, all the cool brides (like Zoë Kravitz) were tying the knot in custom Danielle Frankel.
“Even at a young age, she was never intimidated by fashion,” Reiss says of her granddaughter. “She didn’t mind wearing checks with polka dots. She put on her berets and she went to school and she felt very confident. I admired my daughter, Danielle’s mother, for allowing her to be creative and be herself.”
Frankel wears mostly comfortable basics these days and tells me that her style is a lot less flamboyant now than it was during her childhood, though her grandmother begs to differ. “Oh I don’t know about that,” she says. “Danielle wore a sweater under her wedding dress — and it showed! I couldn’t believe it.”
The personal style came naturally for Frankel, who attended art school from age 6 to 17 and showed promise in mediums like watercolor and charcoal painting. She always loved and appreciated fashion but it wasn’t until her freshman year at Parsons School of Design that she decided to pursue a career in it.
Reiss wasn’t at all surprised; in fact, she thinks her granddaughter’s passion for fashion might actually be genetic. “ I have a reputation for being a good dresser. I go shopping two to three times per week. I use it as an excuse to get my walks in, which is important.” Reiss, who spent 35 years working as a teacher, looks incredibly put-together for an early morning Zoom call, with gold bangles stacked high on both arms, a fresh coat of Champagne-colored lipstick, and honey-gold highlights that catch the light. Even though she says she dressed up for our interview, Frankel clarifies that her grandmother has “immaculate taste” and pretty much always looks chic.
They bond over more than just fashion, though. The designer displays photos and keepsakes from her grandmother and grandfather’s 64-year-long love story — including the garter Reiss wore on her wedding day, their wedding cake topper, and an old receipt from the couple’s honeymoon hotel — inside a vintage curio cabinet at her New York City salon.
Here, the bridal designer and her muse share lessons on life, love, and marriage.
On weddings:
Danielle: Our wedding was super casual. My husband and I just wanted to have a lot of fun and we wanted our friends to have fun. So it was very energetic, but low-key.
Sandi: My wedding was in 1960, 64 years ago. I don’t remember how many people, at least 200. When I look back, I think it was a lovely wedding.
On meeting their husbands:
Sandi: My husband saw me at a wedding. I didn’t meet him at the wedding but he liked what he saw. He approached a few people until he found out who I was. And then he went to the groom the next day to deliver a gift and said, “I would like to meet that girl. Could you arrange a blind date for me with her?” I thought, Oh, I go on so many blind dates, I guess I’ll go on another one. So he called me and we went out. We went out three times, and I enjoyed his company immensely. He was very pleasant to be with but we came from very different backgrounds. I thought, this is not going to be good. I better not get any more involved. So I ghosted him. One year later, someone else wanted to fix me up with him. We went out three more times, then we got engaged after just six dates. And now 64 years later, we’re still together.
Danielle: My husband and I also come from different backgrounds and places. It’s all about learning how to merge the two to be your own family, right? Also, my husband and I are business partners. He’s the CEO. He handles most of the business, while I’m in charge of product and creative. And so not only are we actually married, but we are also married in a business sense. But it’s a testament to how much we enjoy each other’s company.
On marriage:
Sandi: Yeah, it’s not easy. When you really think about it, marriage is two people who were raised in different homes by different parents, coming together. And you often emulate what your parents did, relationship-wise, and it’s very hard. My husband and I even separated for about eight months because we went down different paths. But when we fell apart, we realized how much we really needed and wanted to be together. So he went to therapy, I went to therapy, and we went to therapy together. That’s how important it was to us. And it worked out.
Danielle: She really acknowledges how lucky she is. Just a few weeks ago, my grandmother and I were on the phone and she said, “I’m so lucky that at my age I’m still walking and that my partner is still here.” You guys go out and do stuff. My grandparents go out every Sunday, they go to a show and out to a restaurant after. I think you both have the same goals.
Sandi: Yeah, we really enjoy each other’s company, and yet we give each other space. It’s been 24 years since we separated and our marriage is even better now than it was for the first 40 years. We worked at it. We really, really worked at it. And I believe it was all meant to be.
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