A designer with a long career in bridal fashion made a personal stop in Kansas City this weekend, bringing gowns to a loft-style boutique on Southwest Boulevard. Lazaro Perez attended a three-day couture bridal trunk show at The Gown Gallery, giving local brides a rare chance to try on his full collections and meet him in person before ordering.
The event, which ran through Sunday, gave shoppers access to gowns from both the Maison Perez and Lazaro lines, according to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV. Gowns at the show varied in lace elaboration and skirt volume between price points. The Gown Gallery will keep the trunk-show gowns in stock for the next two weeks, and it plans to hold onto select styles from the collection throughout the season, per the station's report.
The Gown Gallery serves Kansas City brides from its loft-style space at 500 Southwest Blvd, according to The Gown Gallery. Trunk shows like this one are typically short two-to-four-day events that give boutiques temporary access to a designer's full seasonal line, often paired with ordering incentives such as 5% to 10% discounts, according to a retail guide from Miss Scarlett. Because showroom space limits how many sample dresses a boutique can keep on hand at once, these events are often the only chance local brides get to see a designer's complete catalog in one place.
A Career Rooted in His Mother's Sewing Table
Perez has designed dresses, and per the same account, he said his mother's sewing for the community was what first inspired him to design wedding dresses. His mother hand-made and repaired dresses, and Perez has said watching her work shaped his path into bridal design. That personal history lines up with broader biographical reporting on his career: a profile by PreOwned Wedding Dresses notes that Perez worked as a pattern maker in Chicago before entering New York's couture bridal industry, and that he won three Best New Bridal Design awards in a 1981 Chicago competition while attending Ray College of Design.
That early recognition launched his move to New York as an apprentice for Galina-Bouquet, according to the same profile. JLM Couture President Joe Murphy later recruited Perez in 1994 to launch his namesake line, which he led while winning Designer of the Year and a DEBI award in 2001 and creating the Tara Keely diffusion collection during his tenure there.
Signature Silhouettes and a New Business Chapter
At the Kansas City show, Perez said his collections maintain generally consistent silhouettes and design across price points, using a variety of laces along with embroidery and beading he is known for. He is recognized for varied silhouettes, and he told FOX 4 that his style includes a range of silhouettes to suit different brides. Future brides at the event were invited to schedule private appointments with Perez directly.
Perez left JLM Couture and joined Ashdon Brands in 2025, launching new Blanc de Perez and Maison Perez lines, according to VOWS Magazine. Ashdon Brands CEO Nick Yeh reportedly pursued Perez, offering flexibility, encouragement and creative reign. VOWS Magazine later reported on Perez's Spring 2026 collections.
How the Price Point Compares
Perez's Cuban heritage also runs through his design philosophy. His personal story includes helping his mother sew and an early aspiration to become a theatrical costume designer.
Perez's designs occupy the luxury tier of bridal fashion.
