Helena Stocks,

Editor (Fashion)

 

NEW YORK – Bridal Fashion Week, which took place in fashion capitals, including New York this year, showcased a variety of new designs from many top designers for Spring/Summer 2013. The collections consisted of bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, veils, hair accessories, flower girl dress and dresses for all other special occasions. From streamlined and elegant, to short and flirty dresses, with dramatic lace and crystals, to simple and sleek- there was a wedding dress for everyone on the catwalk.

There were many beautiful detailed dresses included in the shows with crystals and encrusted sparkles, which almost resembled the beautiful dresses worn at Indian weddings, shadowing the Eastern influences also shown in the previous fashion weeks- through oriental trends. Marchesa showcased this trend along with an impressive selection of headwear, including a headband similar to that worn by actress Anne Hathaway at her wedding. Such accessories give wedding outfits a more classic feel and mirror the headbands worn by women in the 1920s. Sometimes a wedding outfit doesn’t need to be about simplicity to be beautiful, go all out with crystals and accessories if you want a beautiful on-trend wedding.

It seem,  however, Vera Ellen Wang’s designs stole the spotlight this year, with an all-white collection, which was very much the opposite of her last collection, in which the dresses were all various shades of red and darker colours. Wang’s dresses this season radiated a traditional romantic feel on the catwalk, with figure hugging bodices and full skirts with lots of layers perfect for a princess.

Some dresses included delicate lace details and long sleeves; paying tribute to Kate Middleton’s wedding dress and again portraying a more old-fashioned style, whilst others included whimsical extravagant details such as neck ruffs and accessories. Although her collection may have seemed obvious and too traditional with no experiments of colour, Wang described her collection as a “study in femininity and romance [that] celebrates the wedding gown in a new take on classicism and ornamentation.”

Ethiopian designer, Armsale, named her bridal show Metropolitan and described it as “a love letter to the sleek style of New York City.” The dresses were sleek and streamlined, emitting a sense of both simplicity and elegance, whilst keeping things more modern. The designs varied from shorter dresses to longer detailed dresses, and models wore lipstick in shades of red and pink to prove that you can liven up a wedding outfit in the subtlest ways.

Lebanese designer Reem Acra showcased a very creative line of bridal wear, introducing amazing, dramatic, pleated veils which were classic with a modern twist, elegant styled ball gowns and up to date cocktail styled dresses. The details on the veils also included feminine crystals in the form of headbands for an added sparkle, varying in lengths as some veils were nearly as long as the dresses. The skirts on some of the shorter dresses were almost tutu shaped with a feathery and fluffy light feel- perhaps perfect for younger brides. Acra also made use of lace in more traditional looking dresses and varied the shapes in other pieces from fishtail dresses to peplum dresses- providing a style for every figure.

Bridal fashion week provided us with an insight into the wedding trends for the approaching Spring and Summer of 2013 and from the catwalks, it seems, from classic and sophisticated to modern and daring, there is a style suitable for everyone on their wedding day and a variety of perfect accessories for women on that life-changing day.