Luann de Lesseps Takes PEOPLE Inside the Jovani Showroom as She Picks Dresses for Her Cabaret Tour (Exclusive)
The 'Real Housewives of New York City' star is currently touring her latest show, 'Marry, F, Kill'
Dave Quinn
Luann de LessepsPEOPLE was invited along with Real Housewives star Luann de Lesseps as she picked out dresses at the Jovani showroom
The cabaret star is currently touring her newest show called Marry, F, Kill
She's also recently released a new song, fittingly called "Marry, F, Kill," to correspond with her tour
Luann de Lesseps and Jovani — one of the most loyal relationships in Bravo history.
The Real Housewives of New York City alumna and the fashion brand have become synonymous with one another ever since the season 10 finale of the Bravo series in 2018, when de Lesseps wore dresses from the company — thanks to an introduction by costar Dorinda Medley — in her inaugural cabaret show.
Six years and one 'Feelin' Jovani' song later, the two are still going strong, with Jovani providing gowns, jumpsuits and dresses for de Lesseps' press appearances, cabaret shows and everything in between.
"It’s the best gift Dorinda could have ever given me," de Lesseps tells PEOPLE. "I’m thankful to her every day, because it's just been a match made in heaven."
While preparing for her new Marry, F, Kill tour, the mother of two and her show director Richard Jay-Alexander took PEOPLE with them to the Jovani showroom in New York City to pick out the ensembles she'd be showing off on stage every night.
Taste the (Jovani) Rainbow
Dave Quinn
“This is like a girl’s dream come true, to be in a showroom like this,” de Lesseps tells PEOPLE, as she arrives at Jovani HQ. “There has to be thousands of dresses here, at least — and one more beautiful than the other. I feel like I’m in heaven.“
Heaven it is, and gowns there are. Felicia Garay-Stanton, Jovani Fashion's PR and marketing director, says there's close to 4,000 pieces in the showroom.
"It's a little bit ridiculous and crazy, but we don't run like a normal fashion brand," she explains. "We don't go by seasons. Each time we're doing our shoots for our new styles, it's about 300 pieces that we put on the line. But then we have dresses we've been selling here for 10 years, because they're our top sellers and fit a number of silhouettes — from petite to curvy. So yeah.. it's a full space."
Sorting Through the Sequins
Dave Quinn
With so many options, de Lesseps has a lot to go through! Luckily, she has a team helping her. Plus, she makes frequent stops to the showroom and knows what she wants.
“Luann comes in maybe once a month or once every six weeks and we kind of go over outfits for her — for her cabaret or any press she’s doing,” Garay-Stanton says. “And she usually gives us color options, but the rest we’ve kind of learned over the years what works for her so we'll pull them as a jumping off point."
A Discerning Director
Dave Quinn
Since de Lesseps is exclusively pulling for her new show Marry, F, Kill, her director is steering the ship this time.
"I like to arrive early so that I can look at what's available and start matching that with the vision we have," says Jay-Alexander. "Luann is also known for giving a fashion show. People go wild every time she changes her clothes. And it just has to be better, better, best. So the clothes are just as much a part of the storytelling as is anything else."
A Pretty Pool of Possibilities
Dave Quinn
Jay-Alexander tells PEOPLE that he approaches a situation like this with a blank slate.
“When you build a show, you don’t think about the clothes until you come here, so Jovani is half the inspiration,” the accomplished director says. “There have been things in the past where we see them and suddenly go, ‘Oh my God, wait a minute, we can use that.’ And then I’m reworking something to make it fit.”
I Can Hear the Bells
Dave Quinn
A perfect example of Jay-Alexander’s point was when he walked into the Jovani showroom and stumbled upon the brand’s section of wedding gowns.
“The show is called Marry, F, Kill. And you turned to me and said, ‘Richard, you’ve got black for the ‘Kill,’ red for the ‘F,’ aren’t you going to do a wedding dress for the ‘Marry?’ And it was like, ‘Oh my God, of course! We need that!’
“Now the question is — where does the wedding dress go?” he says. “I think it’s the end, like any good fashion show, but we’ll figure it out in rehearsal.”
Here Comes the Bride
Dave Quinn
The dress Jay-Alexander chose for de Lesseps' wedding dress might not be the one audiences imagined for the Countess.
"I said, 'What I want is an absolutely inappropriate wedding dress for a woman like Luann; something a traditional, conservative bride would never ever wear. Because we like to take the ‘Countess’ image and kind of flip it on its script,'" Jay-Alexander recalls. "And I have to say, that's what I love the most about working with Luann. Because she said, 'Sure, I'm game.' "
"Why not?" de Lesseps adds. "This isn't my everyday wear, this is fantasy, darling. I'm all about putting on a show."
The Jovani Feeling
Dave Quinn
A Jovani garment is known for its unique fabrics and trimmings, which are draped and cut to accentuate the beauty of every woman
“Everything here is made by hand,” explains Garay-Stanton. “All of course sequin and prints, they’re hand-designed here. For most of these pieces, a minimum of 70 hours went into creating every one of them, especially with our beading. The craftsmanship is there. But our dresses are also affordable, so it’s really accessible glamor.”
“Our gowns bring out your inner sparkle and help you shine," Garay-Stanton adds. "It's that Jovani Feeling."
"The quality of the gowns are unbelievable, and for the price point? I think they’re really beautifully done," says de Lesseps.
Variety Is the Spice of Life
Dave Quinn
The brand is also built around garments designed for a range of uses.
“These are dresses you can wear for multiple occasions,” Garay-Stanton says. “It’s not like, ‘Oh I just wore Jovani for my prom and I’m never going to be able to wear that brand again.’ It’s like, ‘Hey, get a dress and wear it 3, 4 times and it’s still gonna have that va-va-voom to it.’ We really take pride in what you’re getting.”
“That’s the good thing about Jovani: Since there’s so many different dresses, pretty much anybody and everybody can find a dress for them,” Garay-Stanton continues.
No Repeats
Dave Quinn
Garay-Stanton has been working with de Lesseps long enough that she knows what de Lesseps has and hasn’t worn.
“I’m like an encyclopedia for her looks,” she says. “Luann will be like, ‘I wore this already,’ and I’ll be like, ‘No, you wore something similar.’ Because she has so many shows and she’s wearing us for interviews, for BravoCon, on RHONY Legacy — so its about making sure not wearing the same thing over and over again so it gives that variety.”
Related: Luann de Lesseps Rocks Plunging One-Piece Swimsuit After Calling Out Age-Shamers
Made for Movement
Dave Quinn
When it comes to selecting things for de Lesseps' show, Jay-Alexander has one key thing in mind: movement.
“Costumes have to move,” he tells PEOPLE. “This isn’t a picture. We’re looking for items that have flow to them, have shine, have sparkle — but also, that she can walk around in night after night after night. You have choreography on stage. She has to be able to up the stairs, down the stairs, across the stage. She has to be able to sit, play the bongos, dance… all those things. So it’s like trying on a shoe: You’re testing out how it looks but also how it feels.”
Plenty of Bling
Dave Quinn
Luckily, performance pieces are something Jovani does best.
“We dress a lot of celebrities for the stage — we sponsor Miss America, after all, so over the years we’ve added more pieces that are great for this very thing,” Garay-Stanton notes. “Those concerns Richard said are definitely in mind for lots of our designers when they’re creating. They’re thinking about the sparkle the stage lights will bring and the comfort of whomever is wearing them.”
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One-Size-Fits Luann
Dave Quinn
A huge advantage to a trip to the Jovani showroom for Luann is that everything fits her flawlessly.
“Our sample size is a 4 and our fit model is 6-ft. tall. Luann easily can wear a 4 and is almost 6-ft. tall. She has the perfect body for anything in here," says Garay-Stanton. "From the jumpsuits to the regular gowns and the cocktail dresses, she looks great in everything.”
De Lesseps certainly likes it. “Jovani, I walk in here, I put on something and it fits me perfect,” the Crappie Lake star adds. “There’s no alterations. I zip it up, the length is right, the fit is right, and it just suits me.”
“A lot of times the dress can wear the person, but with Luann, it’s like was made for her,” says Garay-Stanton.
A Magical Mannequin
Dave Quinn
For Jay-Alexander, that's "magic."
"I’ve never seen anything like it," he says. "I’ve worked with everybody — Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Kristen Chenoweth — no one tries on a dress off the rack and it fits perfectly."
“She’s like a mannequin, it’s crazy,” Jovani President and CEO Saul Maslavi notes. “She’s like a living mannequin!”
Related: The ‘Real Housewives of New York City’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
Taking Risks
Dave Quinn
Like with the wedding dress, Luann is open to experimenting.
“The great thing about Luann is that even if it’s not necessarily the first thing she’d would grab, she’ll always try it on,” says Garay-Stanton.”
“I like to mix up my silhouette,” de Lesseps says. “I know what looks good on me, but I like to experiment. Right now, I'm opening the show with 'Back to Life,' so I'm looking for dresses that are short and have movement because it's a fun, fast song. And then I'm doing 'Lady Marmalade,' so I want something sexy for that."
"Ultimately, it’s a fashion show meets cabaret meets comedy show," she adds. "We give them something of everything.”
Jumpin' Jumpsuits
Dave Quinn
Amid all the risks, there is at least one staple item de Lesseps returns to again and again.
“I always have a jumpsuit in my show because I feel like people want to see a jumpsuit from me, and I love a good jumpsuit — I feel really comfortable in it,” de Lesseps tells PEOPLE. “I’ll sing David Bowie in a jumpsuit. I do ‘Evil Ways’ on the bongos, so I need something that’s rock and roll. And jumpsuits always give that edge — especially when there's sequin involved."
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A Perfect Partnership
Dave Quinn
Jovani Fashion was founded in 1983, and built a name for itself over the past four decades for building garments that empower women and celebrate their individuality. And while stars like Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion have worn the brand over the years, de Lesseps certainly made it a household name for Bravo fans.
“It’s been great for branding for our part,” Garay-Stanton says. “We work with a lot of lot of celebrities — and a lot of Housewives, they all wear us — but ever since Dorinda shouted, ‘Jovani! Jovani!’ on that episode, it just opened us up to this wonderful world of Bravo fans.”
Showing the Love
Dave Quinn
In fact, those fans make it clear just how much they like the brand on the regular.
“We hear people all the time screaming, ‘Jovani!’ “ Abraham says. “And the song Luann made? I can’t tell you how the made me feel every time I hear that song. It makes me feel like a king!”
A Fabulous Friendship
Dave Quinn
The bond between de Lesseps and the Jovani team goes deep.
“We just love her,” Jovani’s co-founder Abraham Maslavi tells PEOPLE. “We’ve built a beautiful friendship, and she’s just so wonderful as a person and as a friend. Anything she needs, we’re here for her 24-7.”
“It’s meant the world to me to have their support,” de Lesseps says. “Abraham, Saul, Felicia — everyone here has become like an extended part of my family. I’m so grateful.”
Related: Luann de Lesseps Says She 'Lost Weight' After Getting Sober Again: 'I'm Happier, I'm Healthier'
Cabaret, Cabaret, Cabaret
Dave Quinn
De Lesseps is touring Marry, F, Kill all summer long, with stops in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, California, Arizona and more.
The show is a departure from what fans may have seen from de Lesseps over the years.
“Early on, Luann really relied on friends but now she’s has that confidence and she’s trained her instrument to go fully solo,” Jay-Alexander tells PEOPLE. “It’s a totally different Luann. People who think they’ve seen her before, they haven’t seen anything yet.”
Back to the Tour
Dave Quinn
“It’s been wonderful,” says de Lesseps. “The creative process of putting a show together, being on stage, making music, touring the country — these are things that I dreamed of; what I’ve worked for. So to continue to have the support from audiences year after year? You know, I’m very appreciative.”
“I really am just having fun,” she adds to PEOPLE. “And that’s what the vibe of Marry, F, Kill is all about. It’s about relationships, it’s about romance, but it’s also about getting rid of the people who take up our energy so we can make room for the good ones. And who doesn’t need to do that?”
Tickets for Marry F Kill are now on sale.
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