LONDON — Post-lockdown bridal dressing is all about self-expression, and making a fashion statement, say London-based designers Jenny Packham, Alice Temperley and Bella Freud.
Gone are the days when a customer would dream about having a single white dress to wear for the ceremony and the reception. Today those customers are looking for multiple outfits to suit various events, which often happen in different countries.
Even when they’re buying a single outfit, they’re keen to make a statement and, ideally, rewear the outfit into eternity. And they don’t want to wait too long for it to be made, either.
Here, Packham, Temperley and Freud talk about some of the trends they’ve been seeing and why brides are behaving increasingly like red carpet celebrities, or rock-‘n’-roll legends.
Jenny Packham
The designer known for her lavish sequined, sparkly creations said her customers are buying up to four bridal outfits, two for the registry office wedding, which might take place in London, and a further two for the destination wedding, which might be on the Amalfi Coast.
“They have so much choice now: they can have the big dress, and then they can also have the other, more sexy dress for the party afterward when they make an entrance, dance and let their hair down,” said Packham.
“I think there has been a movement back to these formal, big dresses, and then this desire to change up the mood later in the day. They can have the best of both worlds, and the second dress doesn’t even have to be a bridal dress,” she added.
Packham said one of her brides recently partied in a bright red style from her James Bond capsule collection that launched last year.
In terms of the ceremony dress, Packham said she’s seeing more shoulders and arms on show, and more requests for strapless styles.
“We’ve been through this whole period of sleeves and little collars and beautiful lace sleeves, which came after the royal wedding [of Kate and William]. Now I think we are seeing much more of a sort 1950s glamour, but more with a modern take,” said Packham, adding that she’s been doing longer trains and dresses but keeping things light.
“It’s very important for me that brides are able to move around easily,” she said.
Packham, whose collections sell through her own store and through sites including Net-a-porter, also noted that brides today are “more relaxed in the way they buy. They may buy their dresses online, or pick up one dress here, and another one there. They’re shopping more like they’d shop for fashion.”
Alice Temperley
Temperley has long been the go-to designer for bohemian brides seeking a ’20s retro mood. She’s expanded her business — and styles — over the years and said customers are now coming to her looking for wedding wear, “but they don’t really think a massive dress necessarily needs to be the solution.”
She said she’s doing tuxedos, a lot of sequined dresses, or ones with colorful, stitched embroidery. She’s also launched a “wedding wardrobe” capsule for all the celebrations involved in a wedding.
“They might go for a white dress, and then a jumpsuit and then a full-on sequined dress to wear later,” said Temperley, adding that brides are also “desperate to get out and make a statement with really special pieces.”
Individuality, and authenticity, are key for the new generation of brides. “They relate to that embroidery, to that fabric, they’re finding their treasure rather than just having another white dress made. And they also want something they can wear again. It’s not just a onetime buy,” she said.
Color has also become a big story, too. Temperley said that people are seeing her bridal gowns in stores and asking for them in colors like red. And she’s also become fixated on a gold fabric, which she plans to use for bridal going forward.
Temperley said speed is top of mind — brides don’t want to wait too long for a dress. Lockdown forced them to put off their weddings and they’re tired of waiting. To wit, she’s making more frequent orders so that she has enough stock to hand. In response to bridal demand, the brand has also increased its wholesale clients across the U.K. and added more European accounts.
Bella Freud
Freud is relatively new to the bridal dance, and started designing looks in response to her customers’ requests. In typical Freudian style, she’s bucking convention, focusing on tailoring that can work just as well on men as it does on women, even though she doesn’t really design for men.
“When people are getting married, they want to look like themselves still. Town hall weddings are becoming increasingly popular, and we see that people want to be glamorous without having to do this huge number,” said Freud.
She added that there is so much indecision and confusion about wedding day dressing “because so many people find they are having to be someone else for the day. I don’t want it to be confusing for them. It’s an old tradition, but people are experimenting, and we’ve seen a huge interest in white and cream tailoring, in waistcoats and this kind of boy-girl love, which is very sexy and interesting.”
Freud has done a wedding capsule for Matchesfashion that includes a minidress, trousers, waistcoat and jacket. She said the surge in town hall weddings and the boy-girl vibe of the collection led her to do a shoot inspired by all of the weddings that have taken place at Chelsea Town Hall.
“I wanted to do a real rock-‘n’-roll wedding inspired by all of these glamorous people who got married there,” said Freud, referring to a string of unconventional brides and grooms such as Wallis Simpson, Irving Penn, Sharon Tate, Hugh Grant and James Joyce.
