How Markarian became part of Naomi Biden's wedding day and first family favorite

For her first big fashion moment, Alexandra O'Neill was locked up, pre-vaccinated and totally alone except for her dog. When new First Lady Dr. Jill Biden appeared at President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration wearing a turquoise coat and dress designed by her brand, Markarian, she and the brand became famous du jour. on the next day. Nearly two years later, when the couple's granddaughter Naomi Biden wore a custom Markarian dress to her wedding reception, seen here for the first time, O'Neill was on vacation with her family, eagerly awaiting the photos that would show his work at the heart of another historic event.

Naomi Biden in Markarian with custom Larroudé shoes.

Getting the call that Naomi wanted to work with her on a track for her after-party was a thrill for O'Neill, and a nod. an ongoing relationship with the first family that has been extremely meaningful to his business and his life. "Stylist Bailey Moon, who is so wonderful and who I've become very close to over the past two years, approached us - oh my God, was that a few months ago? - and asked if we would be interested in working with them again," O'Neill recalled. "It was a big, big yes, because they've been so wonderful to us and so supportive of Markarian, and obviously we said we'd be honored to to work with them again on something so great."

Naomi Biden and her husband, Peter Neal.

When Biden and Moon visited O'Neill's studio for fittings, they were very clear about their vision. "[Naomi] wanted something fun [and] that would be easy to change up after wearing all her more formal looks for the ceremony and the rehearsal dinner. She wanted something that had a lot of movement, that would be easy to dance says O'Neill. "We talked about sparkly looks, short dresses and something with a little more detail, and we finally settled on a little hand-beaded fringed mini dress. We have added very beautiful bows and satin with little trains that stand out. It was really kind of a perfect combination of something fun, but also special and classic. Ten members of O'Neill's team also worked on the dress, which featured handmade beading that w...