Less than four months into her role as chief executive officer, Kelly Cook is already making bold moves to transform David’s Bridal into a full-fledged lifestyle brand — from tapping into the Labubu craze by creating custom gowns for the viral plush toy to launching menswear both in-store and online through a partnership with Perry Ellis and its sibling brand Cubavera.
Now, after the success of the previous ventures, she has her sights set on eyewear.
On Wednesday, WWD exclusively learned that David’s is partnering with Allure Eyewear, a leading designer and manufacturer that has produced frames for brands like Hurley, Roxy, Adrienne Vittadini and Flower by Drew Barrymore.
The collaboration will bring a new line of optical and sun styles to life under Oleg Cassini, the bridal label sold at David’s.
“We knew we were driving hundreds of millions of dollars in sales through the Oleg Cassini brand, but the question we needed to answer was: ‘Does it have legs beyond the dress?’” Cook told WWD. “[So,] when we started doing research, it became very clear to us that there was an opportunity we were missing, which was to push it past dresses and more [into] lifestyle.”
Retailing for $88 to $110 for optical and $42 to $60 for sun styles, the eyewear line will offer customers “stylish and modern frames” at an affordable price, something Cook said was important for the launch.
“The [eyewear], launching later this year, is extremely high quality, but the good news is they don’t have the quality price,” Cook said. “They will be premium craftsmanship because Oleg never did anything that wasn’t high quality. He really wanted all women to feel the way the luxury woman felt. And we loved that about him, so we brought it to this collection.”
Expanding Reach
In addition to broadening its product assortment, David’s is ramping up its operational strategy.
According to Cook, the vertically integrated company began “thinking smarter” about its supply chain after U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a trade war. With 36 design and production centers worldwide — including several outside of China — David’s found itself in a unique position to support brands suddenly grappling with tariff pressure.
“We had partners coming to us saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I need help…I’m 100 percent in China,’” Cook said. In response, David’s began manufacturing select products on their behalf, offering a cost-effective alternative amid rising trade tensions.
“We already have the design and production centers,” she said. “So the partner gets margin breaks because they’re moving their production from somebody that’s more expensive to us. Plus, we have the benefit of not having the tax burden, because the center is outside of China, so they don’t have that tariff issue.”
Cook said this approach has become a new avenue for growth — one that benefits both David’s and its industry peers. “It’s another way to grow the business and allow these businesses to grow and thrive through current market conditions,” she added. “I mean, we don’t even think of bridal boutiques as competitors right now, they’re partners. Overall, It’s really an exciting time at David’s.”