Maribel Diaz
Lotus Threads Designer
Six years ago, I fell in love with non-traditional bridal gowns. I’d worked in fashion design and manufacturing for over 20 years at that point. Nobody in New York was doing anything quite like it yet. I thought, “what a shame.”
This city is unique. Its culture, and its people add new vibrance to a town steeped in glamour. I want to design dresses reflecting that elegance.
I believe all women are beautiful - every age, shape, and size. Our bodies change as we journey through life. If anything can reflect the strength and grace of that journey, it’s a gown.
I design for a woman who sees herself as sensible. I see her as a goddess, writing her own story in our universe. She is timeless, sophisticated, elegant. Designers think of their garments as art. I think my gown only becomes art with the addition of the woman wearing it.
Women who change the world inspire every design. That’s why I name gowns after goddesses. Both heroines from mythology and their real-life counterparts create the future they want to see. They’re tenacious, resilient, much like the lotus flower for which our brand is named.
When I begin to work on a new design, I want to make the dress sensible for the whole wedding event. I love working with beading because I feel the hand techniques make it unique. It is a lot of work and it takes passionate people to commit to the labor. It is truly a labor of love and that energy is felt when wearing our dresses.
We focus on the quality of the material, the centuries-old hand-beading techniques, and the lace. Not just because we love it, but because it allows a dress to last. These dresses can be altered to wear time and again.
Timeless rather than trendy styles, and extra design work allows each dress to be shortened. Women send me pictures of their altered dresses from anniversary dinners years later. That is the sort of sustainable fashion that I hope to see more of in the future. My goal is to build up a line where every woman can feel like herself on her wedding day - to be herself. We only cherish dresses we make memories wearing. Part of a gown’s job is the way it makes someone feel.
Then what could be better than wearing it again?
