Gorgeous gowns for gorgeous ladies! 

Couture designer Randi Rahm is responsible for some of Bachelor Nation’s most beautiful dresses over the past two decades.

For years, stars of “The Bachelorette” have worn her couture creations for promos, premiere episodes, and proposals. Most recently, she fashioned a stunning gold number for Joan Vassos’ first night as the Golden Bachelorette.

Last week, Randi had a show in New York to showcase her new collection and it featured two custom gowns from Bachelor Nation’s very own Bachelorettes Charity Lawson and Joan. 

The New York City-based artist just sat down for an exclusive interview with BachelorNation.com to discuss the dresses in the show and behind-the-scenes details of Joan’s Night 1 dress.

Check out the full interview below!

Bachelor Nation: Hi Randi! Congratulations on your show and beautiful new collection! We saw some members of Bachelor Nation were in attendance, including Joan, Charity, Dotun, and our very own wardrobe stylist, Cary Fetman. How did it feel to see both Joan’s and Charity’s Night 1 gowns again with the two of them there? 

Randi Rahm: Thank you! Those gowns live with me, so I always see them. The window gown, which was Charity’s first night dress, was done this past month because we just love that dress and did it before we even knew she was coming to the show. So it’s ironic because it’s one of my favorite pieces! And Charity was so surprised to see it in the window. Then I set up the showroom with beautiful pieces all over the place to let people look at, and I said, “Oh, it would be nice if we could put Joan’s dress up somewhere special.” So we put it in the VIP room. Then I made this table piled high with roses, we tied bows on them, and we had a sign that said, “Will you accept this rose?” next to the gown with a picture of her. It made me so happy because when she walked in, she was like “Oh, my gosh, there’s my dress! It’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever worn!” And it was a beautiful moment. 

BN: Love that! And they both looked stunning in their dresses. How did you pick Charity’s and Joan’s gowns specifically out of all the other Bachelor Nation dresses to display at your show?

RR: Well, Charity’s dress that’s in the window, it fit the design of the window. We all were wondering what dress would be perfect for that, and it has to be one of my favorites to go in there, and we all at the same time thought of it. My right-hand assistant said, “What about the dress that Charity wore?” She didn’t even get the last word out and I go, “That is absolutely perfect! That’s the dress!” And when I knew Joan was coming, and I have a very large atelier and I had to fill the space, I said, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we put Joan’s dress up?” because it’s the most gorgeous dress. So I put it in the VIP room and it was the best decoration you could have. I wanted her to feel good. I wanted her to feel so wonderful that she was coming, and I knew what a wonderful thing it was to come to New York for the day to support me and have Cary support me for all the years that I’ve supported “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” For me, that was such a beautiful gesture that I wanted to give that in return. 

BN: That is so sweet, and we’re so glad they were there to support you. Can you tell us a little bit about the creative process that went into putting Joan’s Night 1 look together? 

RR: That was one of my lead looks from my Evolution Collection, and when Cary told me it was Joan, I said, “I have the gown! I have the opening night gown for sure, hands down.” So Cary sees it and says, “Oh, my God it is, but you know she’s gotta pick it,”...and she picked it. That was the whole process! It was as easy as that. Joan is a confident woman who accepts herself for who she is, and it was the whole package. And [the dress] was her. I said, “This is classy, elegant, sensual.” I thought it was a ringer for her! I sent her other ones too, but I was not shocked when she picked that dress. And it fit her like a glove! 

BN: Love that, and you can definitely see her confidence in the dress! How did you incorporate Joan’s personality into it when customizing the gown? 

RR: We did a couple little tweaks to make her more comfortable. It was a little more open in the front. We closed it up along the sides and we fine-tuned it. But to tell you the truth, it was very little fine-tuning. It was THE dress! You know sometimes you walk into a store and you like a lot of things and you buy a lot of things, but there’s one thing that you buy and go, “Oh, my God, I don’t need to do a thing to it because it’s me.” That’s how that dress was for her. And there are a few other ones that she used of mine that was definitely the same scenario. 

BN: That’s amazing! And you’ve done that for so many Bachelorettes over the years, designing so many beautiful dresses. Was there a difference in designing Joan’s gown versus designing gowns for the younger Bachelorettes? 

RR: There wasn’t because when I design, what inspires me is you! I design for the people I meet and talk to. I think my base for a lot of my success is that I believe fashion comes from within, and everybody is their own fashion. When I design, my clients are from all ages, so there’s always something for somebody here because I never exclude anybody. I have all kinds of people that come with all kinds of needs, so there’s a variety from day to evening that’s a tremendous scope. And most people, no matter what age they are, still want to feel beautiful. Some will say sexy, some will say sensual, someone might say they want to look young, or the young ones will say they want to look hot. That verbiage changes a little bit depending on what age group you’re talking to, but people still want to feel beautiful and good about themselves. 

BN: Absolutely! And finally, how does it feel to be the designer of the first gown worn by the very first Golden Bachelorette? 

RR: It gives me such joy! To me that is one of, if not the most, important nights and time on the show. And the fact that these women pick my dress and I have made so many women feel so good about themselves on a very important and nerve-wracking night, gives me pride and joy. Because I feel like, “Wow, that’s my message.” They put the dress on and it made them feel beautiful and fabulous inside and that’s what my dresses do! And they did it for the most important night!