(New York Times) — A clotheshorse ever since he could toddle, Mark Ingram ultimately selected an item of clothing he will never wear himself — the wedding gown — as the focal point of his business, the Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, in Midtown. Mr. Ingram, 52, opened his couture bridal shop in 2002 after accumulating 20 years of experience in the clothing industry. He lives in Hamilton Heights.
Dressing up: My grandparents lived in Harlem, and from the time I was a toddler, I remember spending weekends with them and going up and down Fifth Avenue window-shopping. They loved to dress me. On Saturdays I’d go to fittings at Best & Company and B. Altman.
Business first: I grew up in the Bronx and Mount Vernon; I attended the High School of Music and Art, and then I went to N.Y.U. My parents sort of pushed me toward business and marketing.
Mark Ingram, right, with Eilecia Bovard, a bride-to-be.
A clotheshorse ever since he could toddle, Mark Ingram ultimately selected an item of clothing he will never wear himself — the wedding gown — as the focal point of his business, the Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, in Midtown. Mr. Ingram, 52, opened his couture bridal shop in 2002 after accumulating 20 years of experience in the clothing industry. He lives in Hamilton Heights.
Bonwit’s beats I.B.M.: After college I was offered a job by I.B.M. for a whopping $35,000 a year, a windfall at the time, but I saw myself getting into fashion, so I took a job with Bonwit Teller as an assistant buyer trainee in sportswear. I was recruited by Bergdorf Goodman in 1982 to be an assistant buyer in the couture department.
Mr. Ingram cut a path through the couture industry in New York City before opening his own shop in 2002.
Bonwit’s beats I.B.M.: After college I was offered a job by I.B.M. for a whopping $35,000 a year, a windfall at the time, but I saw myself getting into fashion, so I took a job with Bonwit Teller as an assistant buyer trainee in sportswear. I was recruited by Bergdorf Goodman in 1982 to be an assistant buyer in the couture department. But I realized I didn’t want to be a buyer because there was such excessive bottom line pressure, so in 1984 I went to Eagle’s Eye, a sportswear firm, and managed their New York showroom for six years. In my soul I was always a preppie.
Going couture: I got tired of being a preppie, and in 1990 I went to work for Carmelo Pomodoro, one of the rising young designers of the time, as his sales manager. But he died of AIDS in 1992; it was devastating. The company closed, and from 1992 to 1996 I did a bunch of little jobs. I worked part time at Barneys, part time for Eagle’s Eye helping design a men’s line, and for two years I did hats.
Finding a niche: In 1996 Amsale, the titan of couture bridal wear, hired me as sales director, and all these pieces of my past came together in one dream job. After four years I accepted an offer from Wearkstatt, my competitor, to be their retail director and run a destination shop in SoHo. Then, after one year, they closed it in 2001. But the owners encouraged me to open my own store.
T.L.C. for Bridezillas: Bridezillas most definitely do exist at every price range, though we don’t get the kind of bad behavior you see on reality shows. The final fitting is when the bridezilla aspect is most likely to rear its ugly head. She owns the gown; it’s been sculpted to her body; but what if she’s gained or lost weight? The bride is counting beads and looking in mirrors and seeing things no one else sees.
The price tag: Our dresses range from $4,000 to $20,000. The average customer probably spends about $7,000. I love all our gowns because I select them. Then if they don’t sell, I hate them!
The royal wedding: It does pique interest, but does it affect business? No, not really. There aren’t that many princes out there.
Surrogate father of the bride: A black man in bridal is kind of an oddity, and being a man in the wedding business is like being a rooster in a henhouse. I don’t know how the dynamic came about, but customers seem to respect a man’s opinion. I guess they look to me for fatherly advice. I prefer the role of big brother, but the irony is, with most brides, I’m old enough to be their father.
Article Posted by The New York Times
April 14, 2011, on page A22.
Experience Necessary
An Eye That Brides Rely On
Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
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