Clara DeLisio and Lil Stalnaker remember 1997 as the year an Australian bridal designer released a two-piece corset bridal outfit and made waves in the wedding world.
The style may have been en vogue in Australia, DeLisio said, but she and Stalnaker both questioned who would wear such a risky — or risqué — outfit on their wedding day.
“Little did we know, everybody,” DeLisio said.
The little-known Australian designer Lesley Margaret (“Maggie”) Webster became Maggie Sottero, and the brand took off. It also moved to the Wasatch Front. Nearly 30 years later, Webster’s daughter, Kelly Midgley, runs the company out of its headquarters in West Valley City — and corset bodices are still a signature feature in its designs.
DeLisio and Stalnaker both devotedly carry Maggie Sottero in their respective Ohio boutiques. The dresses strike a rare balance of trendy and timeless, they said.
“Maggie Sottero is one of the staple wedding dress designers in the industry,” DeLisio said.
It’s why they were gathered in the Grand America’s courtyard in downtown Salt Lake on a hot July evening: to see Maggie Sottero’s spring 2025 line debuted on a runway in the brand’s home state.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Maggie Sottero unveils its spring 2025 line at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
Heart in Utah, eyes around the world
The statue of Columbia peeking out from Salt Lake City Hall offered proof that the makeshift runway through the hotel courtyard was, in fact, in Salt Lake City. But the dresses on display were designed for brides around the world, said Christina Blanchette, vice president of sales and marketing.
Each of the brand’s three designer lines — Maggie Sottero, Rebecca Ingram, and Sottero and Midgley — is made with slightly different brides in mind. Their personality differences are expressed in such details as delicate embroidery or pops of color. Each line, however, includes various adaptations of Webster’s signature corset.
Maggie Sottero, the most diverse and contemporary line, showcased a black gown in its spring 2025 line, plus dresses with plunging necklines and plenty of sequins.
Rebecca Ingram, the company’s more economical line (most of its dresses are under $1,500) debuted classic silhouettes with contemporary flair: A-line gowns with lace bodices, white satin ballgowns with high slits or big bows, square necklines embellished with floral lace.
Sottero and Midgley is brand’s self-proclaimed “couture” line. Its newest lineup includes full-bodied ball gowns, pounds of satin, chiffon and tulle, and pops of color woven — or, in one case, hand-painted — into floral patterns.
Among the bold silhouettes and attention-grabbing details, at least one dress in every line offers modesty in the form of high necklines or full sleeves. Those are the only other visual cues to the brand’s Utah roots — and are designed specifically for Utah brides, Blanchette said.
Maggie Sottero is a family business, Blanchette said — and the founding family belongs to the state’s dominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family, and the brand, moved to Utah to be in their religion’s cultural capital.
But while the brand honors its family’s faith in some of its designs, Maggie Sottero is not a Latter-day Saint brand, Blanchette said. It is a global brand; its dresses have to appeal to brides and bridal shops in more than 70 countries.
“We’re catering to all faiths, all sizes, all ethnicities, all trends,” Blanchette said.
Maggie Sottero does not need to be in a major metropolitan hub like New York or Paris to keep up with fashion trends, Blanchette said, or even to set new ones. Its headquarters are in Utah, but the brand has eyes all over the world: from retailers, including the flagship store in Sydney where Webster got her start, to remote employees, to designers like Patricia Delaunay.
Delaunay lives and works in California, and leads Maggie Sottero’s sustainability efforts. She sources lower-impact fabrics such as recycled polyester, chiffon and tulle, and helps other designers incorporate them into their gowns. She also runs the brand’s textile recycling program, which she said diverts 100% of unused materials or excess stock away from landfills.
“I’ve been worried about the environmental impact [of fashion] for a long time,” Delaunay said.
Sustainability is also increasingly important to modern brides, Blanchette added, and keeping up with fashion trends includes keeping up with consumer ethics — though Blanchette said they are ethics the brand shares and champions.
And Salt Lake City has still woven itself into Maggie Sottero’s brand DNA. The city is increasingly a “melting pot” of “vibrant and diverse” communities and characters, Blanchette said.
“The inclusive and supportive nature of Salt Lake City ... [enables] us to embrace and celebrate the uniqueness of each bride we serve,” Blanchette said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Maggie Sottero makes some modest dresses specifically for LDS bride.
Unveiling
Despite its Utah roots, the July fashion show was the first time Maggie Sottero had showcased its work on its home turf, said Media Manager Anya Enloe. The bridal expo where Maggie Sottero usually releases new lines was postponed this year, and the brand didn’t want to wait. So it threw a fashion show in the Grand America courtyard, modeled after an elaborate wedding: a team of acrobats entertained guests while they drank and dined before the show. A DJ brought people to the dance floor once the show was over.
Guests came from all over the world, and Blanchette said she hoped the night, and the brand, offered proof that a high fashion “global bridal brand” can succeed here in Utah.
Stalnaker and DeLisio needed no convincing. In a few months, some of the 100-plus dresses modeled for them will end up on display in each of their stores. Their next job, they said, is to figure out which ones.
“We’re having fun tonight,” Stalnaker said. “Tomorrow gets serious.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Maggie Sottero CEO Kelly Midgley, far right, poses with models wearing dresses from the brand's spring 2025 line.
Shannon Sollitt is a Report for America corps member covering business accountability and sustainability for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.
