Anne Barge believes a wedding is a rite of passage that demands dignity in a dress; she designs accordingly. Her challenge this season was to accommodate the growing taste for bare and body-revealing weddingwear (some like it hot, after all) in a way that made sense for her brand. Barge cited the glamorous Ziegfeld Follies girls as her inspiration, saying that though they were skimpily attired, they retained some “ladylike refinement”—a quality much valued at this label.
Elegance, of a traditional kind, is what Barge delivered today. The designer translated bareness into lightness in this collection, which was softer than the one she showed last season. There were no surprises here, but much to like. The idea of wedding separates—i.e., a lacy leotard-type top and full ball skirt—was refreshing. One could even imagine a bride trading the skirt for ivory tuxedo pants for the after-party. Much more elaborate was the finale gown, a blush-color confection with an intricately constructed skirt that conjured a Southern belle or princess bride rather than a showgirl.
