While some designers were busy bringing sexy back to the Fall bridal season, Anne Barge stood firmly on the side of ceremony. “I think a bride should look like a bride,” she said postshow. And indeed, her pretty-as-a-picture gowns were exemplars of craftsmanship, elegant restraint, and tradition. Most were ivory with subtle embellishments, including lace appliqués and hand-beading. One especially lovely dress, with delicate touches of lace, had incredibly fine soutache trim at the waist, neckline, and hem. Though the full-skirted looks were clearly designed to be the showstoppers, a metallic lace slip-like column (which would shine like burnished gold in a candlelit ceremony)—a youthful style with an asymmetric skirt and a midi-length overlaid “tee”—nodded ever so slightly to current trends, bringing a welcome sense of newness to a purposefully timeless collection.
