Shelby Township woman releases 2023 bridal collection, appears on reality TV show

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Katerina Bocci, a Shelby Township woman whose wedding gowns have brought her national recognition and who earlier this year appeared on a reality television show on TLC, recently released her 2023 bridal collection.

Bocci is an Albanian-born haute couture wedding gown designer. She studied design in Italy and moved to the United States in 2001 to pursue her dreams. She opened her designer studio in Shelby Township in 2007.

Bocci and her daughters appeared three times on TLC’s “Darcey & Stacey,” which aired on the cable network at 9 p.m. Mondays from January until show’s finale April 10. The show is a spinoff of “90-Day Fiancé” and features twin sisters — one who is engaged and the other who is looking for love. The episodes now can be watched at tlc.com.

Lela Bocci, Katerina’s daughter, said she loved meeting and working with Stacey and her fiancé, Florian.

“My mom wanted her wedding dress to showcase her sparkling personality, shining like a diamond on her wedding day. As soon as we met with Stacey, there was an instant connection! Stacey was the best and everything you would imagine — funny, kind and so beautiful. It was a pleasure and an honor to work with Stacey and Florian and one I will cherish forever. My mom’s gown looked spectacular on her,” she said.

Both TLC and Stacey called Bocci’s gowns “The star of the show.” They received coverage in People Magazine and on Entertainment Tonight.

The 2023 bridal collection was inspired by a bride who had reached out to Bocci with a request to design a wedding dress.

“There’s a lot of detachable and removable pieces, skirts and gloves, jackets and sleeves. Also, we always bring something new such as hats in the new collection,” Katerina said.

She said the collection is fresh, airy, elegant and sexy.

The dresses start at $6,000.

Katerina Bocci said that being on the TV show was fun and she was honored to have been chosen.

“Especially after her trying on so many dresses at so many boutiques, and once she reached out and we were able to make her dream come true actually makes us very happy and very excited,” she said.

“I showed her all the sketches, and she told me what ones she likes the best. I made the fabrics from scratch, so I embroidered my own fabrics for her, and it took about 500 hours of work to make the dress,” she said.

Stacey’s fiancé, Florian, was doing a photoshoot at a studio owned by another Albanian-American, Fadil Berisha. A rack of Bocci’s gowns were still at the studio after a recent shoot, which caught Florian’s eye. That serendipity led to Bocci’s involvement in the show.