Marry like Hailey: Make your way to the altar in a personalised lace gown by Virgil Abloh
Hailey Bieber's wedding dress is part of countless wedding mood boards. Although the ceremony in the South of the States took place almost two years ago, the creation by OFF-White designer Virgil Abloh still manages to appear in the top online searches.
Some brides just leave a lasting impression. The ivory silk taffeta gown of Diana Princess of Wales designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel is just one of the many unforgettable Royal Wedding dresses of our time. But who said it has to be a big gown? Pamela Anderson married Tommy Lee barefoot on the beach in a white bikini. Traditional or unconventional - stars inspire, just like Hailey Bieber.
The 24-year-old model married her Justin at a large estate in South Carolina, USA, in September 2019, and as she tells Vogue.com in a video, she didn't want a traditional bridal designer, but someone who could incorporate her personal style which is heavily influenced by street style. Who better than Virgil Abloh?
A year and three fittings later, the white, off-the-shoulder lace gown embroidered with beads and floral sequins was ready. The creation is the OFF-White designer's first wedding dress, as well as the first for the brand itself. Personalised details make the piece totally truly one of its kind. Just below the seam of the open back, "WEDDING DRESS" is embroidered in beads, while the brand's arrow logo can be found in the form of beads all over the dress. The highlight, however, is the metre-long veil, which ten of the twenty members of the design team tirelessly worked on. At the end are the words "TILL DEATH DO US PART". Street style zeitgeist meets femininity in the most traditional sense.
Photo: "Inside Hailey Bieber’s Final Wedding Dress Fitting", Vogue.com
Centuries of textile traditions lie before embroidered block letters and inverted commas. For a long time, women wore colourful dresses, as it is still the custom in India today. Especially red in combination with precious jewels was a popular choice among the upper class. The wedding in white, as it is known today, became popular due to Queen Victoria. Her silk satin dress with flounce on collar and sleeves, hoop skirt and extensive lace details became the example of a wedding dress par excellence. Suddenly, everyone wanted to exude innocence by marrying in white.
However, highly elaborate designs in the finest white fabrics were reserved for royalty and the upper class, which is why many women reached for the most beautiful dress in their personal wardrobe. This was not only practical and economical, but also much easier to clean. Boosted by industrialisation and general societal progress after the Second World War, the population became wealthier and textile production cheaper. Now, saying "yes" in white was possible for everyone.
Photography and picture printing in newspapers, along with the broadcast of video footage on television, women around the world could now see who, how and, most importantly, in what the celebrities of their time were tying the knot. Trends spread quickly. So did lace, which neither Victoria nor Hailey wanted to miss.
Lace is the epitome of femininity. Delicate and fragile, the fabric has adorned the world's most famous wedding dresses, including the ones of Grace Kelly and Kate Duchess of Cambridge. The material has been around since the 15th century, when it was made using needles in Northern Italy. Around 1700, the bobbin lace technique was established, where yarn is wound onto a wooden spool in order to be twisted, crossed, linked and intertwined into lace with the help of templates. This process is faster and, in turn, the material itself cheaper.
Photo: Bettmann
Getting married in a custom-made one-off is already personalisation at its finest. However, if you still want it to be a bit more personal or feel like spicing up your dress a little, it's best to follow the example of the stars. Lettering is an integral part of the OFF-White design vocabulary, but it doesn't have to be as bold as Hailey Bieber’s dress.
Italian It-girl and founder of the clothing label Wandering Giorgia Gabriele was the second bride to get married in a Virgil Abloh original. Complete in lace with a high collar, long sleeves and an open back, it's the words "Andrea's hand here" embroidered in red on her left arm that undoubtedly make the dress hers. The lettering is subtle, especially romantic through the choice of colour and handwriting. And since her husband is OFF-White CEO Andrea Grilli, the couple was also gifted "Just Married" sneakers.
Photo: Giorgia Gabriele
Two worlds skilfully collide in Virgil Abloh’s wedding dresses. Traditional lace reinterpreted with modern embroidery and a lot of personality is exactly what the new generation of brides is looking for. With LVMH now a majority shareholder in OFF-White, it seems nothing stands in the way of a Bridal Collection by the revolutionary Virgil Abloh.
