The Viral Fashion Brand Taking Over Wedding Season

In the past two years, I’ve been to nine weddings. By the numbers, that’s three continents, 15 outfits, 14 flights, 10 pairs of shoes, and two train rides… but who’s counting? I’ve seen more wedding guest outfits than I can remember (and plenty of dress code faux pas that I’d like to forget). But across locations, themes, and color palettes, there’s one wedding style guarantee: Someone is going to pull up to the function in Cult Gaia, and they’re going to get all the attention.

Whether it’s a pearlescent clutch, sculptural earring, or goddess dress floating across the ballroom that catches my eye, I always get the same answer to my inquiry: “It’s Cult Gaia!” Women truly flock to the brand’s pieces (myself included), creating huddled circles on dance floors around a pair of mismatched earrings or matching bags (true things that happened at weddings I attended last summer). These designs are seemingly tailor-made for both shot-on-film photography and shrieks of gleeful envy, landing whoever wears the L.A.-based fashion line at the top of the best-dressed guest list. What’s Cult Gaia’s secret?

“I’m bored very easily,” says Jasmin Larian, who founded the brand in 2011 with a collection of turbands and flower crowns. “Good product gives me a great dopamine hit, and I have an aversion to sameness.” That drive to create something truly new is what unifies all the brand’s offerings. From 2013’s Ark Bag—a clutch so viral, it landed on InStyle’s list of It Bags of the past 30 years—to more recent hits like the brand’s backgammon purse and a sold-out Gap collaboration, which remains the retailer’s fastest-selling partnership with the highest web traffic to date.

It’s not hard to see how one-of-a-kind pieces would make Cult Gaia the unofficial wedding brand. The search for something special to wear on a special day landed many brides in its showroom—and Larian took notice. “First, I started just testing and making our best-selling products in ivory or white. And then I started building around those,” she explains. “What are all the events that she has? She has the bachelorette party, the white party, the rehearsal dinner, and the welcome dinner.” The “she” in question being, of course, a member of the brand’s voracious fanbase.

The natural conclusion? A Cult Gaia bridal capsule, which launched on April 15 and delivers the brand’s signature sculptural aesthetic to the world of weddings. This is not your typical ivory-and-cupcake-skirt assortment, though. True to form, Larian designed with intention, creating pieces she didn’t already see in the market, not what she thought might sell. “I’m not going to be the best at perhaps your traditional wedding dress. Maybe down the line, but not right now,” she explains.

Instead, she focused on the world around weddings, not solely the big day itself. After all, guests were already upstaging their friends with her pieces; why not the bride? Larian’s occasionwear is a godsend for anyone, say, looking for an unforgettable welcome dress with cool-girl fringe made from organza or, perhaps, an engagement party look with a built-in pearl necklace bolero: “I wanted these pieces to also make you go, Wow, I’ve never seen that.” 

One such design is the Tamara gown, a linen piece inspired by Larian’s own hunt for the perfect wedding dress. “I got married in Mexico, and it was hot. Everything was silk. We started cutting out the lining of my dress because, you know, silk is sweaty,” she explains. During her bridal search, she couldn’t find anything in the tropical weather–appropriate linen fabric that she really wanted, especially not a dress that felt uniquely her own. “I wanted to create a roundup of pieces that felt airy but still substantial, elevated, and luxurious, but still a forever piece that you would pass down.”

Tamara is everything you’d want in a warm weather stunner: light, elegant, and covered in custom linen lace, a fabric construction the designer is especially proud of. And with destination weddings on the rise, it fills a void in the market. “We’re probably going to be sold out by the time you run this,” she says during our interview in April. (For the record, it did, in fact, sell out, but the design is available to pre-order, despite its burgeoning virality—or perhaps, because its creator predicted it.)

Another wow piece is the beloved Florence Clutch, an ingenious objet d’art that doubles as a bag. The trompe l’oeil design was born from Larian’s love of art, decor, flowers, and an a-ha moment while staring at her favorite vase: “I want to hold this. Like, why can’t she just hold this?” There’s magic in the unexpected, after all, which is why the vase-cum-bag elicits such a strong reaction. “When you see someone holding a vase at a wedding, you’re going to be a little confused, and that’s magical, because at least you’re eliciting emotion in people when, you know, everyone is so zoned in on their phones,” she adds. 

This marriage of fashion and art is integral to the brand—and part of Cult Gaia’s potent essence of the feminine divine (hence the name; Gaia is the Greek goddess of Earth). “One of my first designs was the Pearl Bag,” remembers Larian. “It sits on your arm, and it’s hard and soft. It swoops, but then there’s this edge about it. It’s bulbous. I like to make designs that feel almost pregnant.” So, too, is the designer’s Persian heritage. She didn’t know it at the time, but growing up in a culture of constant celebration prepared Larian for a career of curating statement-making fashions for special occasions. “We celebrate everything—like, people will just come up with a reason to have a party. So that’s part of my world, and there’s always an event, and everyone always needs a look.” 

The designer doesn’t just think about making Cult Gaia girls look good; her designs serve the moment. “We’re part of people’s memories, and these very special moments where people get together and have joy and tears and emotion in general. And I think that’s the magic sauce that is not intentional, it just is,” she says. “Fashion should be something that sparks connection.” This philosophy is self-evident if you’ve ever oohed and ahed at a pair of calla lily heels or found yourself coveting giant silk floral earrings. These are accessories (and clothes) for women who aren’t afraid to stand out. What’s more, they love who they are. 

So what’s next for the world of Cult Gaia? Fragrance, for one—the brand’s three sculptural perfumes double as decor, and Larian is working on more—and perhaps even hospitality eventually. “Maybe someday when my kids are a little older,” says the fashion founder, “and I’m more bored.”

Look to brand’s light-and-art-filled stores, and you’ll see the vision—I know I’d die to stay in a Cult Gaia–designed hotel. But like all things Cult Gaia, until Larian can do it right, she’s not interested. The company timeline is proof: In more than a decade of slow and steady growth, she’s expanded a flower crown venture into a successful fashion business (which has increased 35 percent since last year), offering handbags, ready-to-wear, jewelry, beauty, and now bridal.

Perhaps that’s Larian’s real secret sauce. Her instincts. “There’s so much product out there in the world. Why do I want to compete with everyone else?” she says. “The only person I want to compete with is myself.”