By her own admission, Lauren Sánchez Bezos did not marry Jeff Bezos in the kind of gown she initially envisioned. Originally, she told Vogue’s Chloe Malle that she had visions of a strapless dress. But after going on a Blue Origin space flight to the Kárman line, both her perspective about her life—and style—shifted. “It went from ‘I want a simple, sexy modern dress’ to ‘I want something that evokes a moment,’ and where I am right now. I am a different person than I was five years ago,” she said.
So, she researched pictures of brides from the 1950s. One in particular stuck with her: Sophia Loren’s wedding dress from the 1958 movie Houseboat. “I said, ‘That’s it. That’s the dress.’” After several conversations with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Dolce & Gabbana made her a high lace neck mermaid-line gown with 180 hand-finished, silk chiffon-covered buttons that took over 1900 hours to make. “The whole thing was like a dream,” Sánchez says.
Loren’s original—and fictional—dress was made by legendary costume designer Edith Head, who received eight Academy Awards (as well as a total of 35 nominations) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work with Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. She’s known for crafting the clothes worn by Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard.
Although Loren has been a consistent style inspiration for Sánchez. In April, Sánchez attended the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in a 1994 John Galliano dress once worn by the Fellini muse. On a now-deleted Instagram post (Sanchez cleared her profile after officially marrying Bezos) she called her an “icon of strength and timeless beauty.” It seems likely that Sánchez may have more Old Hollywood fashion nods up her (long lace) sleeves.