Amsale Aberra passed away following a battle with uterine cancer this past Sunday, April 1, but her legacy lives on—as it always has—in the many brides who have donned her chic designs over the years.
Aberra’s uniquely minimalistic, simple silhouettes have always found fans in A-list celebrities as well, with celebrities ranging from Jessica Alba to Ayesha Curry showing off Aberra’s trademark designs walking down the aisle, the red carpet, and in some cases, across a movie set.
“What can you say about an intelligent and innovative woman?” Mara Urshel and Ronnie Rothstein, co-owners of bridal giant Kleinfeld, tell The Knot in an exclusive statement. “She was personally adored and respected by everyone who came into contact with her since she designed her very first wedding dress… her own. Amsale was the trendsetter who introduced modern wedding dresses to brides-to-be, from real life princesses to Hollywood celebrities or, just the girl next store.”
Here are a few of Aberra’s most prominent celebrity clientele over the years.
Janet Mock
The activist and TV host took to Twitter to honor the late designer on April 3. “Amsale Aberra, the founder of @AmsaleBridal, designed my dream wedding gown and wouldn’t charge me a dime simply because I was a black bride who wrote a book that she loved,” Mock tweeted in reference to her bestselling memoir Redefining Realness. “Today, I heard she passed from uterine cancer at 64. So grateful to have witnessed her genius firsthand.”
Amsale Aberra, the founder of @AmsaleBridal, designed my dream wedding gown and wouldn’t charge me a dime simply because I was a black bride who wrote a book that she loved. Today, I heard she passed from uterine cancer at 64. So grateful to have witnessed her genius firsthand. pic.twitter.com/WPFZ4FcxA2
— Janet Mock (@janetmock) April 3, 2018
Ayesha Curry
Ayesha Curry wore an Amsale design in her July 2011 nuptials to her longtime love, Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry.
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb opted to go against tradition in a pale pink gown for her 2009 wedding to husband Roey Hershkovitz.
Alyson Hannigan in American Wedding
Before How I Met Your Mother, Alyson Hannigan was telling tall tales about band camp in the American Pie movie series; she ultimately got married to Jason Biggs’ character in the 2003 flick American Wedding.
Sarah Ramirez and Jessica Capshaw in Grey’s Anatomy
Sarah Ramirez and Jessica Capshaw made TV history when they wed in a 2005 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, with both fictional brides wearing Amsale designs.
(Photo by Richard Cartwright/ABC via Getty Images) JESSICA CAPSHAW, SARA RAMIREZ, SARAH DREW
Hilaria Baldwin
Sometimes, less is more. Here, Hilaria Baldwin wore a stunning Amsale gown for her vow renewal ceremony to husband Alec Baldwin in July 2017.
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba wore an Amsale gown not for her own wedding but for a friend’s—but her blue one-shouldered dress was no less stunning!
A throwback to when @jessicaalba wore #Amsale in this mix and match blue and green palette!
via @bellabridesmaid #TBT pic.twitter.com/a5mwaAW8v3— Amsale Bridesmaids (@AmsaleBrimaids) December 5, 2013
Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses
There were plenty of dresses that caught our eye in 27 Dresses, but both Malin Akerman’s sleek, modern gown and Katherine Heigl’s more structured, V-neck gown were Amsale designs.
“She really was a trendsetter in the business,” Urshel told Women’s Wear Daily in a separate statement. “She was the first one who really introduced very classic lines, beautiful clothes and getting away from all the old traditions of lace, beads and everything that really wasn’t modern anymore. She really created the modern wedding dress. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the money to promote it at the time that she did it. And a lot of other people kind of did the same thing later on. But she stayed true to her course. You could always tell an Amsale.”