Sandra Gray is a fashion and costume designer known particularly for her work designing and building costumes for wrestling.

Biography

Gray was born June 27, 1956.[1] Her mother was in the Army, and won a sewing machine in a bingo game while on the base that she passed to her daughter, and Gray taught herself how to sew and make clothes for herself and her friends.[1][2]

In 1994, while living in Marietta, Georgia, Gray was engaged to make a costume for Marc Mero.[2] Mero stated that Gray answered a newspaper advertisement,[3] although Gray recalls being approached by Mero's girlfriend at the time Rena Greek, who had heard about her sewing skills.[1] The costume that Gray created established Mero's signature character, Johnny B. Badd, based on Little Richard.[3] As a result of this commission, and due to word-of-mouth from Mero, Gray became a successful designer and costumier specialising in wrestling wear.[1][2] With the support of Miss Elizabeth and Lex Luger, she signed an exclusive contract with World Championship Wrestling which was acquired by the WWE in 2001.[1][4] Gray was employed as costume designer for World Wrestling Entertainment until 2015. Gray got hired at All Elite Wrestling in 2019 as their in-house seamstress.[5][6] In her job, she was often seen on the WWE reality programme Total Divas.[1][2] She was succeeded by Sarath Ton, a former independent wrestler known as Mikaze.[7]

Gray's other wrestling clients include Layla El, Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox, Cameron, Dustin and Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and Allie.[1][2][8][9] She originated Naomi's trademark glow-in-the-dark costumes in 2016,[10] and created wedding dresses for Naomi's 2014 wedding to Jimmy Uso and for Penelope Ford's on-screen marriage to Kip Sabian on AEW Dynamite in February 2021.[11][12] Gray has also made cheerleader uniforms, including the inaugural cheerleader uniforms for the Houston Texans squad's debut in September 2011.[1]

In 2016, Gray opened a shop in Riverview, Florida, selling both her original designs and vintage clothing.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Vician, Eric (August 31, 2016). "WWE seamstress opens Riverview store for local 'divas'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lawrence, Kelsey (March 21, 2015). "Meet Sandra Gray, the Veteran Seamstress of the WWE". www.vice.com. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Boone, Matt (June 27, 2021). "Marc Mero Shares Origin Story Of His Johnny B. Badd Character In WCW". ewrestling.com. eWrestling. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. ↑ Ounpraseuth, Jason (June 3, 2021). "AEW Lead Seamstress On How Lex Luger And Miss Elizabeth Got Her Hired By WCW". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. ↑ Haverford, Joey (July 20, 2019). "10 People You Didn't Realize Were Employed By AEW". TheSportster. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ Giri, Raj (May 6, 2015). "Longtime WWE Employee Leaves The Company, Talent Responds". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Middleton, Marc (May 13, 2015). "WWE Hires Indie Wrestler As New Seamstress". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (September 28, 2021). "Cody Rhodes: My Gear Is Not Inspired By Homelander From 'The Boys,' But I See The Parallels". www.fightful.com. Fightful. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ Currier, Joseph (March 21, 2019). "Former Knockouts Champion Allie signs with All Elite Wrestling". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  10. ↑ Cassada, Carol (June 8, 2020). "Naomi: 10 Of Her Best Instagram Posts". TheSportster. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ Vulpo, Mike (January 21, 2014). "Total Divas Stars Trinity McCray and Jonathan Fatu Are Married—See the Exclusive Wedding Pics!". E! Online. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  12. ↑ Fishman, Scott (February 3, 2021). "Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford on Their AEW 'Beach Break' Wedding". TV Insider. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
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