A local fashion icon, businesswoman and supporter of the arts, Yolanda Cellucci continues to inspire those in Boston’s fashion scene even after her recent death.
“She was loved throughout the city, and beyond that she was just an amazing woman,” said Jane Conway, a friend and former model for Cellucci.
Cellucci, who died in September at 91, had a glamorous approach to fashion, often seen in all white with feather headpieces, rhinestones and spiked heels, even in her later years.
“I make jokes about it and say my mother sprinkled rhinestones on our cereal because she was always in glitter,” said Sondra Celli, Cellucci’s oldest daughter and a fashion designer herself.
Building a business
Cellucci was best known for her successful storefront, Yolanda’s Bridal Salon in Waltham. Opened in 1973, Yolanda’s sold everything from sportswear to prom dresses to evening wear. The store also had a health club and spa where customers could get beauty treatments after a day of shopping.
“I think women loved the fact that it was just catered to women,” Celli said. “She was really ahead of her time.”
The variety of merchandise was not the only reason for the store’s popularity.
“She was so friendly, so accommodating and just made everyone always feel so welcome, and she was the face of her business,” Conway said. “So everyone loved her, and that’s how the popularity of the business grew was because of her.”
Cellucci’s success didn’t come overnight. She started by selling wigs from the trunk of her car until she was able to open her own store, said her friends and family.
“The biggest thing she always said, ‘You have to work in life anyway. So do something you love, and the money will come,’” Celli said.
Yolanda’s closed in 2009. Although Cellucci’s daughters worked in the fashion industry, they knew they could not take over their mother’s store.
“I said to her, ‘Mom, Yolanda’s is not Yolanda’s without Yolanda,” Celli said.
Keeping busy
Even after the store closed, Cellucci remained active in the fashion community, supporting designers and events, including Boston Fashion Week.
“There’s so many people in the industry, locally, she really showed up for people,” said Jay Calderin, founder of Boston Fashion Week. “Personally, I was so grateful for her support in the beginning when I first moved to Boston because I didn’t know anybody.”
Calderin recalled Cellucci arriving at one of his first fashion shows in her white Excalibur. Cellucci had parked the car in the front of the theater, which gave the show a bit of Hollywood movie glamour, Calderin said.
“It really added this little flair to a small event by a new designer, and it was just amazing,” Calderin said.
Calderin was one of many people Cellucci supported throughout her life.
At the School of Fashion Design in Boston, Cellucci started a scholarship in her name, the Yolanda Cellucci “Glamour” Scholarship, to support young talent. She would invite these young designers as guests on her TV show, “Yolanda Style & Glamour,” which was still airing just a week before her death.
“They look up to her because it’s an amazing story where she started and where she ended up and I think that’s one of the reasons why she always wanted to give back to the community, ” Conway said.
A lasting legacy
At the Peabody Essex Museum, 32 ensembles of Cellucci’s personal archive were on display this year in the Fashion & Design exhibit. These ensembles were donated by Cellucci in 2021 and were what curator Petra Slinkard described as “over-the-top kind of glamorous.”
“Yolanda wanted to look beautiful,” Slinkard said. “But her ethos was grounded in the sense that she wanted to make people smile. Her, being a little edgy, being a little different, offering an invitation to feel a little razzle dazzle, for her was the invitation for happiness.”
“Although the exhibit has closed, the museum will continue to honor Cellucci’s legacy in a different way, through her love of cars. A sequined jacket that belonged to Cellucci, featuring a patch depicting her white Excalibur, will appear in an upcoming automobile exhibit.”
This year’s Boston Fashion Week, held this month, was dedicated to Cellucci. Events such as the open runway, where anyone is invited to showcase their work, reflect Cellucci’s philosophy of supporting new talent.
The Boston Fashion Icon Awards on Nov. 11 will honor Cellucci’s legacy, with guests asked to dress in all white.
“She’s passed away and she’s still selling tickets,” Celli said. “She’s a legend.”