the power of pantora

i first connected with Andrea Pitter last year when I was writing a “Black Wedding Dress Designers to Follow Now” article for TheKnot.com (we’ll get into that later). Two things about Andrea struck me immediately: First, she described Pantora Bridal, in Brooklyn, NY, as a “safe space for Black women,” detailing how a few dresses and a tiny showroom became a fully realized boutique, wedding dress collection and ready-to-wear line because she made the brave decision to serve an underserved community. Second, she was brutally honest about the lack of inclusivity in the wedding industry, highlighting the media’s role in underrepresenting or misrepresenting Black couples in particular. “What we’re doing is bigger than dresses,” she said more than once, and she was absolutely right. I knew I wanted to know more about Andrea’s story, and that her perspective deserved more than a few sentences in a list. What resulted was a raw and real conversation about the numerous challenges women of color face when shopping for wedding attire, the greater cultural implications of how Black love is portrayed and what gives her hope for the future.

SHELLEY BROWN: What inspired you to both design dresses and open a bridal salon? That’s a rare combination in the wedding industry.

It is rare. I started Pantora Bridal when I was around 20 years old. I wanted my dresses to be in stores but I realized I was a little green and the stores weren’t necessarily taking me seriously. I knew that