The Real Inspiration Behind Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Gown

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Amid the extreme fanfare—and corresponding outrage—surrounding her Italian nuptials to Jeff Bezos, Sanchez has finally revealed her much-anticipated wedding dress. She selected her friends the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana to craft the gown. And instead of pushing boundaries with a modern silhouette, Sanchez wanted timeless glamour. So, she turned to the past.

More specifically, the bride reverted back to the ‘50s for her inspiration. The dress is based on the one Sophia Loren wore to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film Houseboat. The bodice is quite similar: A white, boned corset with a sweetheart neckline blanketed in lace that extends to a high neck and long sleeves. 180 chiffon-covered buttons trace a line up the middle. The skirt, however, swaps a full ‘50s silhouette for that of a fluted mermaid. A sweeping tulle-and-lace veil tops it off. The whole thing took over 900 hours to make.

It’s a departure from the revealing silhouettes Sanchez often favors (she famously exposed a lace bra beneath a plunging white Alexander McQueen blazer to Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration) but no less body conscious. She wore a similar silhouette to the amfAR gala in Cannes last month: a white Roberto Cavalli strapless mermaid gown trimmed in ostrich feathers.

So far on the bridal circuit, Sanchez has attempted to skew more capital-F fashion. She’s worn a one-shoulder vintage 2003 Alexander McQueen dress and Schiaparelli couture, lavishly embroidered with an extremely exaggerated, corseted waist. This morning, she sported a classic white Dior skirt suit with an Hermès silk scarf tied on her head in an homage to Audrey Hepburn. She is rumored to be changing into a sweetheart neck, corseted gown inspired by the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda.

Other publications have noted that Sanchez seems to be chasing the fashion crowd with choices like her couture gown from Schiaparelli, a brand that the industry has dubbed elite in its creativity. References have also become a popular red-carpet hack, as editors and watchers alike uncover sartorial easter eggs left by celebrities and their stylists. Sanchez wanted to evoke a moment rather than opting for something simple. But the key to an interesting historical reference is that modern interpretation.

For Sanchez, it seems the past curries more favor than the present. When in Venice, it’s of course appealing to channel golden-age film stars—La Dolce Vita, and all. Their ensembles exaggerate the wearer’s femininity in a manner that parallels Sanchez’s style of dress (minus a bit of fabric—it is 2025, after all.) But then, there’s a reason the 1950s have become shorthand for regressive gender roles. The gowns in Houseboat and Gilda are beautiful, but both films feature female characters who are criticized for their promiscuity and failed domesticity. In an era where so many things feel like they’ve moving backwards, it’s hard not to read something deeper into this kind of ‘50s cosplay coming from the newly-minted wife of a billionaire. Or perhaps she’s just a huge fan of director Melville Shavelson?

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