Inside the Luxury Bridal Room
As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, Luxury is “A state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense.” Luxury comes in many different forms ranging from dresses and shoes to cars and furniture, even homes and holiday destinations. It is basically a whole different lifestyle and a way of living altogether; one that is affordable to and can be enjoyed only by the rich and famous. In this aspect, even something such as a wedding gown has been considered as a luxury product in modern times.
A Luxury Bridal Gown
A wedding gown is probably the most sacred and desired dress for a woman to wear. The fashion designer Oscar de la Renta proclaimed that the wedding gown was “the most important dress in the life of a woman.” And he could not be more right as soon-to-brides all over the world, go out of their way to ensure they get the perfect dress to wear on the day they say “I do.” Indeed, for most women, who are not typical luxury fashion consumers, their wedding dress will be the most expensive outfit they wear in their lives. American women spend an average of $1,211 on their wedding dresses, according to TheWeddingChannel.com, a number that might be on the low-end of what a designer ready-to-wear dress currently costs, but is a clear indicator that if a woman is going to spend significant sums on a dress,
it’s going to be for her wedding day. And, of course, the wedding dress is the ‘pièce de résistance’ on runways around the world. Therein lies one of the biggest opportunities for ready-to-wear designers and luxury retailers targeting bridal wear and the luxury wedding gown realm has obviously had to expand because of its big demand. Today, we have a large number of designer labels that deal with some of the world’s most expensive yet, exceedingly beautiful wedding dresses.
Vera Wang
One such designer, known for balancing modern designs with traditional elegance, is Vera Wang who is arguably the most prominent designer of bridal wear in America. Vera Wang honed her skills as a fashion designer and eventually launched a signature collection of streamlined and sophisticated bridal wear. Wang first received international attention during the 1994 Olympics when she designed a hand-beaded ensemble for figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Wang has since introduced an equally popular line of elegant evening wear, as well as Vera Wang Made to Order—a collection of couture designs that are available exclusively at the Manhattan boutique. To date, both her bridal and
evening apparel are sold at over 55 upscale retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. It is definitely every woman’s dream to wear Vera Wang on her wedding day.
A few of Vera Wang’s designs
A good many celebrities have opted for the designer’s creations on their special day. Hilary Duff’s Vera Wang wedding dress was a ‘mermaid’ style gown that was embellished by hand; Delicate and beautiful in every way mentionable. Chelsea Clinton also chose a Vera Wang number: A strapless dress, consisting of a number of yards of ivory silk organza that had been lightly gathered, with tulle pleated diagonally on the bodice. The dress was finished with a silvery embroidered waistband. It was the talk of the town at a time.
Chelsea Clinton wearing a Vera Wang number on her wedding day.
Oscar de la Renta busy at work
While on the subject of luxurious wedding gowns, one cannot forget to mention Oscar de la Renta, one of the worlds’s leading fashion designers, famous for his women's evening wear and wedding gowns. His line— identified by its delicate silk prints, use of ruffles, soft silhouettes and vibrant palette, soon became synonymous with casual luxury. Women of means couldn’t get
enough of his distinctly modern yet romantic looks. Amal Alammudin stunned in an Oscar de la Renta piece on her wedding to George Clooney. The dress, which was one of the most anticipated wedding gowns, is an exquisite millefeuille of ivory tulle appliquéd with fourteen yards of Chantilly lace, its bodice hand embroidered with beading and crystals.
Amal Allamudin stuns in de la Renta’s creation
Perhaps the most famous and talked about wedding gown till date was that of Princess Diana.
In her efforts to support England’s fashion industry, Diana selected a young British couple, Elizabeth and David Emanuel of London’s Mayfair district, who had been in business only seven years. The relatively unknown Emanuels were chosen for both their talents and their discretion. Diana had worked with David and Elizabeth on previous occasions, including her first public appearance after her engagement to Prince Charles, when she wore their revealing black off-the-shoulder gown. Following the wedding, demand for the Emanuels’ designs and sketches skyrocketed. Even after their new success, the Emanuels insisted on keeping their operation small, believing that otherwise, “the dresses will lose their magic.” Every dress is custom-made.
The most famous designers at the time, Elizabeth (right) and David Emanuel (left)
The Toronto Star dubbed Princess Diana’s wedding dress as the most closely guarded secret in fashion history. The dress is a romantic, fairy-tale gown made of ivory silk taffeta and lace, with a fitted, boned bodice, curved neckline, and a detailed finish. The wedding gown has a full skirt over a multi-layered, tulle petticoat, with intricately designed bodice panels. The entire gown is hand-embroidered with more than 10,000 tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls. The 25-foot silk train is the longest in Royal history, and adds a touch of theatricality to the outfit. It has been called the dress of the century.
The train of Princess Diana’s wedding gown’s train was an astounding 25ft long.
A generation after, millions tuned in to see Kate Middleton morph into a real live princess, wearing a wedding gown designed by Sarah Burton, creative director of the luxury fashion house Alexander McQueen. The dress epitomises timeless British craftsmanship by drawing together talented and skilled workmanship from across the United Kingdom.
Another spectacle the world waited to see: The wedding gown of Kate Middleton.
Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen designed the Duchess’s wedding gown
The dress design pays tribute to the Arts and Crafts tradition, which advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often Romantic styles of decoration. Sarah Burton's design draws on this heritage, additionally giving the cut and the intricate embellishment a distinctive, contemporary and feminine character. The dress generated much comment in the media from fashion experts and was very well received. Being another prominent and popular dress of the time, its style would influence wedding fashion in the next years to come. The fact that the Duchess of Cambridge chose to wear sleeves signals a big goodbye to strapless wedding gowns. Addionally, it always happens that when a person of royalty or high stature gets married, it sets trends for several years. For example, Princess Diana's gown as mentioned earlier and Carolyn Bessette's gown are two noteworthy brides that come to mind.
Obviously most of these now famous designer labels would not have been able to make a name for themselves had it not been for their famous customers. Twenty years ago, a designer like Sophia Kokosalaki would not have touched bridal wear. However, that all began to change when prominent society women started turning to their designer friends to make their gowns. Famously, in 1996, Carolyn Bessette asked her close friend Narciso Rodriguez to create the gown she wore to marry John F. Kennedy Jr, putting the young and previously unknown designer on the fashion map. Dressing Ashlee Simpson for her wedding to Evan Ross has helped boost Houghton’s bridal business by 35 per cent in the past year.
A few noteworthy celebrity designer wedding gowns of (from left to right) Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Carolyn Bassette, Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss.
In recent years, several ready-to-wear brands have seized the opportunity of launching designer bridal lines of their own, including Giambattista Valli, Lanvin, Matthew Williamson, Naeem Khan, Elie Saab and Marchesa. Even J. Crew has gotten into the bridal game. And while they have not launched fully fledged bridal lines, Nina Ricci, Valentino and Roland Mouret have created bridal gowns exclusively for Net-a-Porter. Net-a-Porter’s bridal boutique, which has shipped to customers in over 65 countries, is geared towards offering a fashion customer a fashion dress in a way that’s more in tune with the needs of today’s affluent, modern bride.
Pieces from the bridal collections of various Luxury brands namely (from left to right) Giambatistta Valli, Marchesa, Zuhair Murad and Lanvin
More bridal gowns from the runaways of (from left to right) Elie Saab, Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier, Matthew Williamson and Naeem Khan.
The wedding dress is such an evocative symbol of the bride. It has romantic and historical associations with the ritual of the dress and the rites of ceremony, from countless princess brides encountered in fairytales as a child, to the televised and endlessly photographed weddings of royalty and celebrity that have punctuated our lives. I feel that luxury wedding gowns form a vital element in today’s society. It is not like we get married every day, and this makes weddings all the more special and the importance for a bride to look her best on that one eventful day. Would any woman be satisfied in run down, simple, ordinary white dress for their wedding? I beg to differ. It is definitely every young girl’s dream to stun the world in her wedding dress. Moreover, this mind-set is prevalent in most women already and therefore, having the designer wedding dress market has proved to be a much needed sector for the world to have. With that, we can conclude by saying that even though women may be leaning in, branching out, cracking glass ceilings and forging vibrant careers in multiple sectors, for many of them, it is their wedding day that heralds true success. Hence, the need to look stupendous on their wedding day has added more pressure for brides to find the perfect gown. In this way, wedding gowns have made a great difference to the luxury market. From Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta to Net-a-Porter and Browns, a wide range of ready-towear designers and luxury fashion retailers are capitalising on the rise and rise of designer bridal wear.
References: • Ellin, A. (2015). Chasing the Fairy-Tale Wedding. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/fashion/weddings/chasing-thefairy-tale-wedding.html?_r=0 [Accessed 17 Feb. 2015]. • Feitelberg, R. (2015). Bridal Market Gets Ready for its Close Up. [online] WWD. Available at: http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/designer-luxury/bridalmarket-gets-ready-for-its-close-up-8006904 [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015] • Malle, C. (2014). Amal Alamuddin’s Wedding Dress: Behind the Scenes at Her Final Fitting with Oscar de la Renta. [online] Vogue. Available at: http://www.vogue.com/2041281/amal-alamuddin-wedding-dress-oscar-de-la-renta/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015]. •
McBride-Mellinger, M. (1993). The wedding dress. New York: Random House.
• Moss, H. (2015). PHOTOS: Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress & Designer REVEALED!. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/29/sarah-burton-kate-middletonwedding-dress_n_855299.html?ir=India [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015]. • S.A., h. (2013). David Emanuel on how he and Princess Diana kept her wedding dress a secret. [online] hellomagazine.com. Available at: http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2013112515833/princess-diana-weddingdress-david-emanuel-secret/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015]. • S.A., h. (2013). Celebrities who wore Vera Wang on their wedding day. [online] hellomagazine.com. Available at: http://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/2013101315041/Vera-wang-bridescelebrity-dresses/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015]. • Sherman, L. (2013). Inside the Designer Bridal Boom - The Business of Fashion. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/10/oscar-de-la-renta-alice-temperley-neta-porter-designer-bridal.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2015].
Shaunessa Nongrum Foundation Business, Section C