DAYS Exclusive: Elia Cantu ‘Fell In Love’ With Jada’s Wedding Dress
Elia Cantu has enjoyed every aspect of the planning that went into the wedding of her character Jada, to Rafe on Days of our Lives, which kicks off on Friday, January 31 — even as the bride unwittingly stands poised to say, “I do” to impostor Arnold, who has taken over Rafe’s life! Never before in her acting career has she played a bride. “In any capacity altogether, even personally,” points out Cantu. “So this was a first for me, and I was honestly looking forward to it.”
Say Yes to the Dress
A highlight of the experience for Cantu was “trying on the wedding dresses, when I was with Richard [Bloore, DAYS costume designer] in Wardrobe,” she enthuses. “He kind of had something in mind and we went from there. He was awesome with bringing in a few selections. I fell in love with this one dress immediately, as soon as I saw it. It was very classy, chic and gorgeous. I loved it. So I was just pretending that that was a moment in real life, too.”
The dress Cantu fell in love with ended up being the one used for Jada’s DAYS wedding. “I had a few options, and I picked the one I liked,” she recounts. “Everyone loved it, and it was approved,” recounts the actress,who says that the experience felt similar to an actual bride choosing her own gown. “It did. Absolutely. At least that’s what I’m telling myself until that day does happen! It was great to have that fantasy world and see what that was like as a warm-up, a dress [rehearsal].”
Cantu shares that she’s “always very vocal” with Bloore when it comes to her Salem wardrobe. “Richard’s the best. He knows what he’s doing,” she says. “He’s also open to feedback or to collaborate if I have an idea and say, ‘Oh, I saw this.’ Or, ‘What about this?’ He’s always very receptive to it. I appreciate him and everybody in the wardrobe department. They’re really on their game.”
And, apparently, so is Cantu. “I love fashion. I love clothes,” she declares. “I know Jada’s a cop. She’s a detective. So when she’s not in cop mode, I really do like to have fun, because it’s rare that she gets to have cute outfits. Even for the bachelorette party, she wore a really cute dress. So when I have those rare moments, I do like to put a little more thought into them.”
How would Cantu describe Jada’s style? “At work, I would say she’s conservative and classy,” says Cantu. “She has no problem wearing pants. She’s very Katharine Hepburn-inspired; I would say that she’s inspired by that type of fashion. But for her days off, she keeps it… I guess ‘classic’ would be the number one word I keep thinking of. She likes classic things, and she definitely has a feminine side. She likes to be soft. She doesn’t always like to be hard. So when she’s [off-duty], she’s usually in something feminine and soft. She likes a lot of silk satiny dresses.”
As for Cantu’s real-life aesthetic, she feels that she and Jada “do share similar styles. For me, personally, I’ve gotten inspired by the Jada character. I’ve noticed that [her style] has kind of bled into my life, because, typically, I like to wear bright, bold colors, but lately I’ve been kind of more into the neutral and nudes. I think Jada is inspiring me a bit.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.