The $449 Question That's Challenging Luxury Fashion's Oldest Rule

After 42 years dressing Hollywood, Jovani's design team asked: What if red carpet quality didn't require a red-carpet budget?

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

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Julie Durocher was at a trunk show in Miami when she overheard the conversation. Two girls, maybe 16, stood in front of a champagne-colored ball gown covered in hand-sewn crystals. One reached for it, then pulled back.

"It's gorgeous, but..." The sentence trailed off. They both knew what came next.

Durocher, Jovani's lead designer for the past 18 years, has dressed celebrities for award shows. She's created gowns that cost $3,000, that take weeks to bead by hand, that get photographed on red carpets. But standing there, watching those two girls walk away from something they loved because of a price tag, something shifted.

"I went back to New York and told the team we needed to have a very honest conversation," she says.

That conversation led to Jovani's 2026 prom collection, which launches with something the luxury fashion world rarely attempts: three distinct experiences at three very different price points, all with the same uncompromising quality standards.

The collection includes over 1,000 designs. At the top, couture pieces push creative boundaries with techniques usually reserved for runway shows —3D floral appliqués sculpted by hand, vintage European laces, hours of detailed beadwork. These are statement gowns that rival anything at Paris Fashion Week.

In the middle, the core 2026 collection offers Jovani's signature aesthetic: bold silhouettes, trend-forward colors, the kind of dress that photographs beautifully and feels even better.

And then there's the new tier: gowns under $500 that refuse to compromise.

"Everyone told us it was impossible," Durocher admits. "You can't do hand-sewn details at that price. You can't use quality fabrics. You have to cut corners somewhere." She pauses. "We just decided we wouldn't."

It's a philosophy Jacob Maslavi established when he founded Jovani in 1983 in New York's fashion district. His dream was simple: make every woman look gorgeous. His sons, who now run the company, haven't for gotten that. But they've also recognized something their father couldn't have predicted: today's generation doesn't accept the old rules about who gets access to quality.

"My dad started this believing beauty shouldn't be exclusive," says one of the Maslavis. "We're just finishing what he started."

The under -$500 collection uses the same design team, the same attention to construction, the same New York creative direction as everything else that leaves their atelier. The difference? Smarter fabric sourcing. More efficient production. Accepting smaller margins.

It's not charity. It's philosophy.

And it's arriving at exactly the right moment. Gen Z has made it clear: they want quality, but they also want fairness. They'll support brands that figure out how to deliver both. Jovani, after 42 years of quietly perfecting their craft, might have finally cracked the code.

Three price points. One standard. Zero compromise.

That girl in Miami? She deserves the same dress as the girl whose family can afford couture.

Jovani just decided to make that possible.

For more information, visit www.jovani.com.

About Jovani

Founded in 1983 in New York's fashion district, Jovani designs prom, evening, and special occasion dresses distributed through authorized retailers worldwide. Now led by the aslavi family's second generation, the brand maintains its founding commitment to quality and accessibility.

SOURCE Jovani Fashions