Weddings Are Changing Can Designers Keep Up

Dora Kloppenburg did not grow up with her wedding dress. But when she got engaged in February, she knew exactly what she would not wear.

"I've never dreamed of a white princess dress, I just would not feel in one," she said. "But I still wanted to feel the luxury of a wedding dress."

The Utrecht-based accessory designer finally ordered a voluminous white trapeze blouse and a short set by the then Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen, which were bought online for 1,260 euros (1,387 US dollars). On her big day, she combined them with tomato-colored sandals and white flowers in her updo.

Kloppenburg's wedding outfit was not just bought for her big day. She plans to wear the blouse with skinny jeans and keep the shorts for the next summer. "People buy a pretty dress and wear it for a day, but I want to wear it more often," she said.

Kloppenburg is one of a growing group of millennial women who, for practical reasons, say goodbye to traditional bridal offers and shopping. Not only does the shift mark the growing demand for outfits to wear a week later and wear to a party, but it also sheds light on the outdated dogmas of the bridal industry, making them ripe for disruption.

Say yes to the dress (with pockets)

According to IBISWorld, the bridal retail is a big business with an estimated value of $ 300 billion worldwide. According to data from Lyst, 23 percent of brides buy not just one, but two outfits for their big day, while the average cost of a bridal gown rose by 12 percent, according to The Knot wedding market.

I've never dreamed of a white princess dress, I just would not feel in one.

But as expenses rose, the taste and the definitions of what a bride should wear changed. Lyst's wedding report for 2019 showed that the online search for dresses with pockets and white suits increased by 83 percent and 43 percent, respectively. The editors noted that the range of bridal wear increased by 225 percent between 2018 and 2019.

Further inclusiveness in fashion has recently been confirmed by bridal brands. At the New York Bridal Fashion Week, which took place from October 3rd to 8th, Theia's creative director, Don O'Neill, sent the disabled model Bri Scalesse over the piste in an ornate ivory dress. In the latest campaign of the Israeli Galia Lahav was the secret model of the transgender Victoria Valentina Sampaio to see.

However, some experts believe that the bridal industry has still been stuck in the past. "Most brands offer a limited size and two collections per year," said Avery Faigen, retail analyst at Edited. With the exception of retailers such as Torrid and BHLDN, ​​the broader bridal market has been slow to reach customers of all sizes and tastes, and few brands have held lease and sustainability discussions.

Something old, not something new?

While many brides still crave traditional "gold standard" dresses (think of Vera Wang or Marchesa Bridal), e-commerce has offered legitimate solutions for sustainable-minded or frugal shoppers like Kloppenburg looking for second-hand clothes or cheaper models are looking for mass market crowd pullers.

Traditional brands also do not respond to changing shopping habits. Many future brides choose popular pieces from The RealReal or StillWhite, a bridal market founded in 2010 by Bruno Szajer and his wife Ingrid (the first dress sold was hers). Clothes sold through StillWhite cost 50 to 60 percent of their original retail price ($ 955 on average). According to Szajer, sellers on the website have earned 23 million pounds ($ 28.2 million) since their launch.

"In the early days, every sale was personal," Szajer said. "Today, 77 percent of the clothes are bought online, 30 percent of which are shipped overseas."

Consumers are increasingly hunting for just a few months, if not weeks, before the big day, for clothes, which runs counter to the notorious lead times of the luxury bride.

The change has hit the traditional bridal boutiques hard. Alfred Angelo Bridal of Florida, one of the world's largest manufacturers and retailers of bridal gowns, closed the case and filed for bankruptcy in July 2017. The American chain David's Bridal offers everything from cheap dresses to dresses by Vera Wang. recovered from the bankruptcy in late 2018, but still faces debt of $ 250 million.

Nothing Works Better Than a Reforbes

Disturbance by design

The same competitive conditions in e-commerce and an obsolete bridal industry have also created space for a new generation of designers who blur the line between bridal and ready-to-wear.

The bridal section of Net-a-Porter offers bridal brands alongside white dresses and is separated from a number of established and up-and-coming designers from Emilia Wickstead to Cecilie Bahnsen and the Instagram-friendly Les Rêveries. The cheapest piece of the bridal party, a Halston mini dress worth $ 275, is sold as a "chic second bridal look for a wedding reception", but can also be used as a cocktail dress.

"The idea of ​​a wedding dress for a day is so ridiculous," said Amy Trinh, who along with her classmate from Central Saint Martins, Evan Phillips, recently launched the Wed brand, which created sculptural and surrealist dresses, the fans of Simone Rocha and Simone Rocha would appeal to Comme des Garçons.

The idea of ​​having a wedding dress for a day is so ridiculous.

Mi had come after Trinh was engaged, but, like Kloppenburg, had trouble finding a dress that felt right. The models of the brand are available in white and black (similar to Stella McCartney's capsule collection in white and black, which was released after the royal wedding last year). Despite the brand name, the duo wants the customers to think outside the box. The couple debuted during the Paris Fashion Week at the Child Showroom and was surprised by the positive response that the concept received from the buyers. Trinh notes that some shoppers would like to position Wed as a ready-to-wear brand, while others tend to position themselves as a bridal designer.

"We design specifically for the bride to make sure the clothes are special enough, but ask," May I wear them later? Trinh said, "If I can not, we'll scrap it" ("or change it," laughs Phillips).

The duo plays with shape and volume over pearls, lace and pearls. For durability and washability, Wed parts are made from a combination of synthetic and natural materials. "You may not even wash white satin if you spill red wine on it, and a hard clean will ruin the dress," Phillips said. "It's important that the clothes live beyond this day."

Instead of competing against the Vera Wangs of the world, people like Wed and Bahnsen stay with the confection. Trinh and Phillips plan to grow their label by introducing new collections each season, rather than following the traditional bridal calendar, and consider adding color, prints and accessories to the mix.

Most inquiries ... came from women who just wanted to buy the [ready made] in white.

German-born eveningwear designer Paula Knorr recognized the potential of bridal fashion when designing ready-to-wear clothing, but opted for a split between the two. Her bridal collection includes disco-ready white silhouettes - from holographic pants with wide legs to high-necked draped tops - at modest prices (a sequin gown costs 700 euros) Knorr is currently investigating biodegradable glitter options for sustainable customers.

"Most of the requests I received for the bride came from women who just wanted to buy [ready-to-wear] clothing in white," said Knorr. "They were not interested in traditional dresses and the price they bring with them ... they wanted to ... buy pieces that they can wear again and that fit into a less traditional wedding."

These new-age bridal options ask if the distinction between bridal and ready-to-wear products lies in their tailor-made experiences, rooted in romantic comedies through countless champagne-filled bridal shower rehearsal montages. Under the assumption that luxury brands and bridal boutiques will continue to offer fabulous accessories for future brides, others like Kloppenburg will be relieved to find a convenient and low-maintenance alternative.

"The experience [buying your wedding dress] is getting a million fittings and custom-made items," Phillips said. "But the question is, does it have to be?"

Weddings change. Can designers keep up?