As expected, Season 16 of The Bachelorette was fraught with drama. Clare Crawley’s journey to find love ended sooner than expected, but hey, the girl found her one-and-only! Now that she and Dale Moss are officially engaged and living their best lives off-camera, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the California native’s couture gowns from her four-episode stint ahead of Tayshia Adams’ season takeover.
To learn more about this season’s ceremony gowns, I paid a visit to NYC-based couture designer Randi Rahm. If her name sounds familiar, that’s because she’s essentially the go-to for gowns worn by the leading ladies of The Bachelorette. That includes everyone from recent seasons, like Hannah Brown from Season 15 to Bachelor Nation OGs like Ali Fedotowsky from Season 6.
At the time of my visit, Crawley’s finale hadn’t aired yet, but Rahm invited me in for a look at all of the gowns featured in her short-but-drama-filled season. How the process works is that The Bachelor lead is sent a ton of designer gowns before the season, and she picks the ones that she loves organically. It just so happens that they almost always opt for Rahm’s styles.
The designer took me into a chic back room where she introduced me to the sleek and sophisticated Janine, who is, in fact, not a person but a dress. “I name each gown,” Rahm explains emphatically. “Each one is an inspiration. They got their names because I was either thinking about somebody, or it reminds me of somebody. It could be from literature, it could be a real person, but they all have names.”
The reason she names them is because, as she puts it, they’re “her children.” I am very happy to report that I didn’t accidentally harm any of them while I was there. With that said, keep scrolling for a look back at all of the ceremony gowns Crawley wore during Season 16 — designed by the one and only Randi Rahm.
THE “JANINE” GOWN
Crawley wore the custom Janine gown during Episode 4, AKA, the one she was wearing when Moss got down on one knee with a Neil Lane ring. The sleek and sexy dress features a halter-neck and a high-leg slit, both elegantly bedazzled with Swarovski crystals and pearls. The gown didn’t initially have an open back design. Rahm tells us that Bachelorette Head Stylist Cary Fetman said, “It would be so lovely,” if it could. She made it happen, and the result was the perfect pure-white gown that would also look breathtaking to walk down the aisle.
THE “HELENE” GOWN
This intricate lavender-beaded gown took 300 hours to complete. It was hand-sewn in Rahm’s Manhattan Atelier with hundreds of clear sequins and beads that give the gown that stunning glistening effect.
THE “CRACKED MIRROR” GOWN
This is the gown Crawley wore to greet her season’s men from the limos during the Episode 1 premiere. The gown’s name is quite literal — it’s covered in hundreds of multi-dimensional, sparkling cracked mirror pieces. It also features a tie neck that drapes down to an open back.
THE “STELLA” GOWN
Loyal Bachelor Nation fans surely watched this season’s promo materials ahead of the season. Naturally, she went with a gown that packed a punch. Enter the “Stella,” a long-sleeved one-shoulder gown featuring a thigh-high slit that I would absolutely get married in, like, yesterday.
