Many in Denver's growing fashion scene knew the energetic 21-year-old not only as a fashion lover, but as someone who reached out and provided friendship to anyone she saw struggling. But in the summer of 2020, amid rising tensions during the pandemic and the George Floyd riots, Bella and her boyfriend, Darian Simon, were walking their dog in the Ballpark neighborhood when shots rang out of an apartment window.
In an instant, a bright light was gone.
The story was all over the news: a senseless act of gun violence by a man who took issue with the couple tending to their dog outside his window. The man was sentenced in 2022 on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault. Bella died from three shots in the back. Simon, who at the time was a co-owner of the Be a Good Person brand, was shot twice and spent the next two years in recovery.
Now Bella's family is left with heartbreak and memories.
“She was very much a fashionista. That was always a passion for her,” says her father, Josh Thallas. “This kid's style was something else, always very forward-thinking. She loved the marketing and merchandising side of fashion. She was going to school for that.”
Isabella Joy Thallas was killed in the summer of 2020.
Darian Simon
In their grief, Bella’s parents decided to keep her memory alive in various ways. Her mother, Ana Hernandez Thallas, created the Bella Joy Gardens, and in response to learning that the weapon that killed her daughter had been stolen, helped pass the Isabella Joy Thallas Act in September 2021, which requires gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement within five days of realizing it is missing.
Bella's father and his wife, Tiffany Rankin, wanted to celebrate Bella's life through her love of fashion and people. They started the Isabella Joy Thallas Foundation to raise money to give in ways that keep Bella's spirit alive: through the arts and support for various mental health programs.
They're now preparing for the second annual Bella Joy Fashion Show, which will be held on Saturday, August 24, at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. The show will feature notable names in Denver's fashion scene, including Charlie Price, Skye Barker Maa with Skye|Aire, Rachel Marie Hurst, Andreas Tsagas Fur and Leather, and Melanie Joyce.
For her father and stepmother, the show is a way to stay close to Bella.
"As her stepmom, I only got to be with Bella for four years. I felt cheated," says Tiffany tearfully. "The foundation and doing things to show others love is my way of showing Bella from the heavens that I love her and miss her every day."
The money collected from the foundation goes to various causes. So far, projects have included the Bella Joy Memorial Dog Park at the location where the shooting happened; a donation of art supplies to the New Local in Boulder for its children's art program; a bench at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster that is in the works; a funding donation to the Denver Police Department for its Stuffies for Shelby program, in which DPD service dog Shelby and her handler visit children who are experiencing trauma, neglect or abuse; a donation to an e.motion fitness event for anyone experiencing trauma; and 1,000 roses for the Roses for Joy project, in which roses are handed to strangers in the downtown Denver area.
"People were so taken aback by that," says Tiffany of the rose project. "Just a flower to brighten their day."
Josh adds that the gesture would often inspire a small conversation about what it was and why. "Just reaching out to another human being was really powerful," he says.
They also want to use the foundation to support alternative means of therapy, since mental health issues often trigger gun violence. They don't feel that traditional methods really reach the people who need them.
"It's easy to say, 'Let's give money to this therapist to provide counseling to people who experience a traumatic event,' but then you never know if that money is spent correctly, or if people are even using the resources," says Josh. "There have been school shootings where kids haven't been talked to. There aren't any resources for them to grab. So we're exploring alternative therapy, from horse therapy to smash rooms to therapy dogs or a space where people can do art, journaling and yoga. I think those are important, because they often get skipped over."
They want to make sure that people know the money raised for the foundation goes directly to these efforts and the meaning behind them.
"When I say nonprofit, at the moment, this is 100 percent nonprofit," Josh says. "So if somebody donates $10, you're not paying my cell phone bill or buying a new laptop for the foundation. Your $10 is directly impacting someone else on a mental level."
But he's quick to point out that it's not just about the money — it's about what it does for people. "It's the conversation that comes up," Josh says, "and taking time to have a meaningful interaction and showing that human love and caring."
While the couple hopes Bella's love of fashion will shine through the upcoming show, Josh and Tiffany also want everyone to know that she loved people and had so much left to give.
"When somebody's super young, you just take time for granted. Bella was 21 years old, and we thought we had decades left of great times and family vacations and all that," says Josh. "When that's pulled away, you're like, maybe I shouldn't have taken those overtime shifts and missed weekends or been on my computer so much trying to handle business. So now we say, 'You can make more money; you can't make more time.' We work really hard to remember that."
The Bella Joy Fashion Show, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, August 24, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 East Academy Boulevard. For tickets, go to eventcreate.com/e/bellajoyfashion.
