Brenna Simmons is a queer, bi-racial Asian-American bridal designer, and the visionary behind the bridal line “nordeen,” which recently debuted at New York Bridal Market during Bridal Fashion Week. Her love of fashion and weddings have been a driving force in everything she has done, from her education at The Fashion Institute of Technology to her time working for a high-end wedding planner. Simmons had worked as a designer for various brands including luxury, bridal, and contemporary, when she began to realize the importance of sustainability in fashion. This acknowledgement of the role fashion plays in our society and on the planet shifted her focus to make positive changes – both environmentally and culturally. Inspired by inclusivity, nature, and the desire to preserve its beauty, nordeen was born.

Inspired by the natural beauty of our planet's landscapes and elements, nordeen is a bridal collection that reimagines traditional wedding attire for the authentic human. Brenna's own journey, including her wedding to her partner, Sabbie, atop a remote mountain ledge in Colorado, served as the catalyst for launching her bridal brand nordeen - an authentic collection of wedding attire inspired by nature and with each piece, a desire to preserve its beauty.

The brand pushes the boundaries of what traditional bridal wear looks like and embraces the idea of the anti-bride. By choosing to get married or eloping amongst the outdoors, nordeen's clientele is already challenging the perspective of what a wedding can look like.

"With my new collection, I wanted to push this further by offering versatile attire that can be styled in a variety of ways and worn for any sort of event celebrating love, not just what we traditionally view as a wedding,” says Simmons. “Between interacting with this low-key area of the desert, seeing pieces of nordeen playfully floating amongst the winds of such a landscape, and a same sex couple modeling these pieces – the true essence of nordeen was captured and a spark of long-lost inspiration began to ignite.”

BELLA spoke with Simmons about her expertise in the bridal industry and how she is bringing representation to the LGBTQ+ community…

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, why is it so important to you to carve out a space in the bridal industry?

Attire in general is personal and specific to each human across the gender spectrum. However, I find a lot of the wedding industry looks the same or are iterations of the same thing. These are things that have worked for the mainstream but are not necessarily right for everyone. I strongly believe everyone should be able to wear whatever they want, whenever they want. Whatever makes them feel authentically themselves and represents who they are at their core. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am constantly surrounded by different perspectives when it comes to gender and attire. These nuances in our personalities deserve space in our personal aesthetics and that belief is what ultimately inspires my approach to reimagining classic wedding attire.

You describe the “anti-bride,” what does this mean to you? And how does it translate in your designs?

With nordeen, I am always reimagining what classic wedding attire might look like while remaining authentic to the wearer. The brand pushes the boundaries of what traditional bridal wear looks like and embraces the idea of the anti-bride. With the collection, I am always trying to push this further by offering versatile attire that can be styled a variety of ways and worn for any sort of event celebrating love — not just what is traditionally viewed in the mainstream as a heteronormative, western style wedding. Everyone comes from different cultural backgrounds and connects to a spectrum of identities. To this end, authenticity is personal and specific to each human. I am always open to listening and collaborating with my clients to help figure out what that looks like for them.

We are seeing so many trends in bridal now that go against the stereotypical wedding gown. Is there a trend you love or a trend you’d like to see gain momentum?

Non-traditional and versatile looks have been trending and I would love these concepts to continue gaining momentum. Whether this be in the form of color, separates, or convertible pieces that can be styled multiple ways. Or even as simple as the exploration of new types of silhouettes that aren’t necessarily your typical gown. I am also loving the resurgence of vintage details done in modern ways. This exploration of taking something old and making it new is something I can get behind. I think this type of innovation is here to stay and we can see it continuing in future seasons.

Where can people shop your collection and follow along on social?

My website is NordeenBridal.com, and my Instagram is @NordeenBridal.

Photography: Cedar + Pines