Angel Sanchez

One of the things I love about where my career is right now is the opportunity to meet some very wonderful people in a more intimate setting. Such was the case Monday at the bloggers luncheon hosted by Brides.com to celebrate the launch of their blog Wedded Bits.

Michelle Preli, Editor-in-Chief, invited Angel Sanchez to join us. Unlike meeting him at market or hearing him speak from the Runway, in a setting like this his true passion shines. Angel began designing bridal strictly as couture, one on one with each of his bride. He would most often attend the wedding. Hearing him tell about how he would watch the groom’s face as his bride walked down the aisle was amazing. Here is a designer that is in love with each of his brides and wants to make their day the one they have dreamed of.

He is passionate about fabric, hating satin; loving instead silk gabardine for its softer more subtle shine. Rather that lace, he prefers embroidered organza, calling it his favorite fabric. A true romantic, he favors veils over tiaras; saying “A veil adds the aura of bridal to a look.”

Some other things that have Angel excited are the upcoming move to his new 7200 square foot studio and show room as well as the launch of his new line Angel by Angel Sanchez for October 2009.

Enjoy the slide show of the Angel Sanchez collection for Spring 2009

Thank you Miss Peacock for Speaking Up.

I found the following comment from Miss Peacock over at Wedding Bee this morning.

”Since the VW salon would not allow me to take pictures, I asked these very unhappy 14 year old girls to model the dresses for me. They all showed up without washing their hair or putting on make-up, but since I was on a time crunch, I let it slide. They were also so hungry that I was worried they would eat me.”

Boy did she nail it! I have to tell you that seeing these models in person is sometimes pretty startling. While Miss. P’s comment is directed at the runway models for Vera Wang; the ones that have always disturbed me the most are the ones that Monique Lhullier uses. One season I sat in her runway show thinking that if these young ladies are that damn miserable why didn’t they just quit. Are they some kind of indentured servants? What are the designers trying to achieve with this undernourished junkie look?

In defense of Miss Wang, the models I see at her salon runway show don’t have that heroin junkie look. They also however, don’t have boobs either. I have sat at table in her showroom with both buyers and other members of the press and the comment always goes something like this:

“Pretty but can that gown even be cut to accommodate real breasts?”

It is a sad commentary that so many of the couture gowns are designed for the models rather than real American women.

At the same time that these designers are cutting for an almost boyish figure the popularity of breast augmentation surgery is on the rise. The result of these two distinctly opposite trends is that more and more brides that wear something like a size 2 in street clothes are having to order their gown in a size 12 or 14 to accommodate their bust. There is no way under the sun that these gowns can then be altered that much with out losing precious details.

I have said it before and I will keep saying until the WIC gets it. Stop designing for your models and take a look at the real women all around you. Climb down out of your atelier and go for a walk. One more thing, while you’re out there…eat a freaking sandwich, you could use it!!!!

So What Does a Fashion Designer Wear to Her Wedding?

Here is a bit of fun for your weekend. New York Wedding Guide did a piece recently on what some of the top fashion designers wore at their wedding.

The piece includes descriptions as well as some personal comments from the designers. I especially like the quote from Monique Lhuillier.

“I knew the field I wanted to be in, but I didn’t know it would be bridal until I was shopping for my dress. That’s what opened my eyes. I thought I could infuse something different into the bridal world.”

That you did, Monique, and quite beautifully I might add.

Enjoy.

World Heaviest Wedding Gown

In another installment of the “What Planet Are These People Living On” thread I bring you this from the UK courtesy of Bridal Wave. (Is it just me or does this stuff always come from the UK?)

At 425 pounds, this is thought to be the heaviest wedding gown on record. My question is why would you? According to the original story in The Daily Mail the dress had 30 layers of fabric, a 60ft train and 30,000 crystals. Created by Nico's Dressmakers, in Liverpool, England it tipped that other scale at just over $31,000.! Again I ask, on what planet are these people living?

The diminutive 16 year old bride topped out at 5’3” and according to published reports spent most of her reception seated due the weight of this monstrosity. Because of the weight of the train it reportedly took 10 of her friends to PUSH her up the aisle.

Ok, why? Why not get a gown you could actually move in? How I would love to see the video of this. You devotees of YouTube please keep your eyes peeled and let me know if it turns up. I want to see them push this up the aisle.

If Its Sunday Then It Must Be Nuts

Of course it was. Sunday was a blur. We started with the Gala show at the Waldorf, them Reem Acra, Monique Lhuillier, Pricilla of Boston then Claire Pettibone and finally Junko Yoshioka. In between I took time to visit with friends at Tigerlilly, Veil Trends, Kelly Chase and Mon Cheri.

Let me start by giving you two trends that have carried through all three markets. First and most important is a return to soft romantic gowns in soft sheer fabrics layered one over another to add texture and dimension. You can still find heavily structured bodices in some of the collection, notably Pricilla of Boston and Reem Acra but even they had some soft lovely layered gowns.

Look for shoes to take on greater importance as the gowns lose structure. Quite a few gowns with shortened hems, anywhere from the ankle to the knee, showed up in the collection. If this catches on it may become a real option for the bride not bent on being a princess for the day.

The one thing that I notice when I come to couture market is the fabrics. Brides always ask me why some gowns are so much more expensive than others. The answer is the fabrics. You can almost always find a gown in a similar style in another lower priced line than the top designers. What set these gowns apart is the sumptuous fabrics. These fabrics scream out to be touched; they drape better and hang more beautifully. When you go gown shopping look at some of the high end gowns in person; photos don’t tell the whole story. Go to the salons and touch them, look at the way they reflect light differently, take note of the way they fall. Our Grandmothers knew the difference; I think it is high time that this generation learned.

Another mark of a top end gown is the quality of the beading and embroidery. The patterns are matched perfectly, the beads are fully attached and the appliquéd lace is not just left hanging on the edges. All of these things take time and attention to detail not found in a less expensive imitation. They may sound like little details that you can live with out but they are the things that take a gown from nice to exquisite. Take the time to look at the difference before you do something silly like order a designer gown for $200 over the internet. Discover the differences the real thing has.

Virtual Wedding Planner Tool

By and large I am not a fan of big box stores; I much prefer the hands on customer service at a local salon. Having said that, one of them has done something right.

David’s Bridal has launched a virtual wedding planning tool that I can see as the cause of countless hours spent online. Dress Your Wedding allows you to play around with all the many different aspects of the look of your wedding. You can customize the coloring and physical features of the bride and groom and all the members of the wedding party. Add a bridesmaid, delete a groomsman, shrink one to a ring bearer. Mad at the groom, insert his best friend, is after all a virtual world. What fun.

That is just the beginning of the fun. As you would expect you can play dress up to your hearts content (as long as you want something from David’s). Like the style of the dress but not the color? Change it.

Keep going and you can just move your wedding if you don’t like the location. They offer a variety of different ‘location’ backgrounds from which to choose. Of course you can also manipulate a variety of little things like flower color and such.

I wouldn’t say that this is the planning tool to end all others I’m just saying it is a heck of a lot of fun and even if you aren't planning on shopping at David's you can still play with their toys. Hehe

Dresses That Heal

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and even while you are shopping for your bridal finery you can help. Just look for the Compassion Collection hang tag.

Bridal designers are banding together to help support Dresses That Heal, Inc by doing what comes naturally, creating beautiful things. Dresses That Heal was started as a charity that auctioned off donated gowns to aid the Breast Cancer Recovery Fund. Rachael Rivard, founder of Dresses That Heal, Inc has taken it a step further and asked all her friends in the bridal industry to design a piece for their collection to be included in the Compassion Collection. The designers will then donate a portion of the proceed to Dresses That Heal, Inc
Breast Cancer Recovery Fund is all about helping those with breast cancer to become breast cancer survivors. This is a charity dedicated to recovery through the Infinite Boundaries program which hosts retreats created by survivors for survivors. Healing the mind and the spirit as the body heals.

Now you don’t have to wait for an auction date. Just look for the tag. To see a list of designers participating check out the DTH website.

The Gowns

These beautiful creations are from Eugenia.



These are four of my favorite gowns from Sophia Tolli’s newest collection.

J. Jennings Bridal Collection

I stumbled upon the fabulous designer Jason Jennings, J. Jennings Bridal Collection on Monday. Jason’s range is full of interesting lines and gorgeous fabrics. One of the hallmarks of his Spring/Summer 08 collection is bead encrusted cutwork lace. The gown Jason is holding is a good example, you get a taste of it in the straps but those straps fan out across the shoulders accentuating the cowl draped back. His gowns are not for the faint of heart, but if you have the figure to pull them of they are truly stunning. Oh, and Jason is a darling.

J. Jenning Bridal Collection is available in the U.S. at Kleinfelds.

Trend Watch/ Harrogate

The first trend to really pop out at me for Spring/ Summer 2008 is about the fabrics. There is an abundance of sheer fabric overlays done over a soft satin base. On some the base color is white or ivory with the overlay adding a bit of color but mostly it is the other way around. There are gowns with spun gold under and sheer white lace over, or a rosewood base with a sheer chiffon overlay. Quite often the overlays are embroidered or lightly beaded.

The other trend has to do with the hem lines. I saw several gowns yesterday with fuller A-line skirts that had outer layers getting progressively shorter revealing either beautiful laces underneath or heavier satins and taffetas in a tiered effect.

Big on the runway were pleats. Any thing pinch pleats was in. Used in the beautifully soft sheer fabrics being employed it was adding a very flowing fullness over a touch more fitted gown on up to the other extreme of fullness. All in all a soft romantic look.

Day One at Harrogate: Friends Moving Up

Today was about connecting with old friends.

Friend of the Dish, Leanne Stoiche has taken the leap of launching her own line, Tsarina Couture.Quiet sophistication says it all in a phrase. I know she is launching for Spring/Summer in the UK market but I don’t have any word on when she will hit the US. If you are interested drop me a line and I will let her know.

Another dear friend, Rani Totman and St Pucchi are showing for the first time at Harrogate. Lucky me! I got a sneak peek of the line almost two months before it launches in the US. All I can say is WOW! Of course if you have been reading the dish for a while you know that this is one line I just can’t be objective about, I love Rani’s work. End of story. I will have a full picture editorial after couture week in New York.

I also saw several new designers that I will get you more details and images for tomorrow. I also say the new range from Sophia Tolli, again, full details tomorrow.