Runway Fashion

Life is exciting and frantic as we gear up for our annual Expo extravaganza in Melbourne. My favourite part of the Expo is the catwalk show – of course! - and I’m pretty excited about what fabulous designers we have on board this year. ! It’s a fun time dreaming up concepts for each designer segment, staging, lighting, and magical theatrical touches!

I know lots of stylish girls are put off by the idea of bridal expos as they have a bit of a bad name. The fear is that you’re going to end up feeling like an alien dropped into a hideous alternate world where Kath & Kim pumpkin coaches, teddy bears in nasty frilly, lace outfits, strange looking bonbonniere and little Bo-peep shock frocks are the norm! Rather than being inspired all you want to do is laugh and run. Of course if you read Vogue, Vanity Fair or Bride magazine and are serious about being chic you’d think Expo’s are not my scene. That’s actually the reason why Bride decided 17 years ago to provide a beautiful event and a bridal runway show specifically for the tasteful style queens about to tie the knot. There is somewhere to go and enjoy a show a fashion-week type of experience only bridal!
This is not an ad - I am serious when I say that there is something for everyone on our catwalk with the variety of different gown designs from the talented couturiers and also the amazing calibre of designers on board. You can check out Mariana Hardwick, Baccini & Hill, Shane McConnell, Izaro, Mathieu Salem, Gulderen Sivasli & Dimitria. Apart from the stunning wedding gowns (pure couture of course), I am really excited to have Jenny Bannister with some hot bridesmaid options & Jason Grech – funky fabulous cutting edge newcomer to the wedding scene.
Too good to be true!! What a great girls day out – and you can grab some VIP seats to the shows from now as tickets just went on sale:
http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/artist/1126894?tm_link=edp_Artist_Name

You can see from these gorgeous images from our 2008 show how cool and elegant our show is. Hope to see you there…..

Government Bonus $$ (Should it go to couture??)

News stays a bit bleak on the economic front and I was thinking that if I were getting married now how would it affect me?

I have definitely been pondering the high cost of fashion even in my everyday wear! But I have always been a fan of couture at your wedding. It’s so special as an experience and one that is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity in today’s world. Having said that - there is no doubt that the cost is high. So is it too frivolous?? Well we have to weigh this up. With couture what you receive is a high quality product – beautiful fabric (probably more of it), a dress made from scratch to fit you perfectly – (that should mean amazing structure in the gown, bound to flatter you) and as previously stated in my blogs the whole experience of getting that gown made for you is luxurious and extraordinary in our disposable society.

This is not to say that there aren’t some amazing gowns out there that are “ready to wear”. Depends who makes them! There seems to be more couturiers empathising with this dollars dilemma for brides and are providing quite stunning ready to wear options as well as couture. Check these stunning images from Sydney designer Mira Mandic. Her Mira Mira range is Ready To Wear. The “Lana” gown pictured (left) is $950 versus her “Scarlette” couture gown $6500 (right).




















There is no doubt that the couture gown will include a lot more work and you’ll have many fittings, a choice in the design etc.

On the ready to wear side though, you can be confident that a gown designed and made by an experienced couturier is cut perfectly. They understand how to create a fabulous garment, they have access to some very fine fabrics and creative flair is their second nature. They are artists!
The decision is yours. Weigh it up: less guests and a couture experience? Or Ready To Wear gown and invite the whole extended family!! Either way why not spend that bonus (if you are due one) from Mr Rudd – stimulating the economy on a gorgeous frock!!

Here’s some clever designers to check out:

http://www.miramandic.com.au/

http://www.karenwillisholmes.com.au

http://www.bacciniandhill.com.au

http://www.marianahardwick.com.au