Spring might be a bit stalled IRL, but it was present in all its flowering glory at Carolina Herrera. This was Wes Gordon’s first bridal collection as creative director, and the gowns respected the tradition of the house without stifling his own voice and audience. “I was really thinking about the women I know and my friends,” he said. “What’s very ‘Herrera bridal’ to me is a clean, minimalist gown with something extraordinary added to it, whether it’s a ribbon, embroidery, or a veil.” (Brides-to-be should not miss the trailing headpiece with threadwork of dogwood blossoms scattered at its edges.)
“I watched The Philadelphia Story at some point in the past six months,” said Gordon, and it didn’t require much of a leap of the imagination to picture Katharine Hepburn in a white blouse with tied sleeves and a hand-painted skirt overstitched with beaded flowers. Gordon didn’t lean heavily on the movie, however, opting instead to create a wide range of gowns, from a most elegant monastic column with a detachable train to a strapless confection with trimmed bands of lace for women with a Grace Kelly fantasy. There was a cohesion to the offering, as well as connections to the ready-to-wear line. “Herrera is about color, so for us to do two seasons a year where we ignore color seems a little sad,” said the designer, who has noted that brides are increasingly open to playing with a dash of it.
Gordon thought beyond the aisle, too, having observed that some brides who come to Herrera for one dress leave with three—for the engagement party, rehearsal dinner, and reception, say—so there were knee-length dresses and a jumpsuit, as well. “For us, it’s about this idea of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue—and something yellow, and something hand-painted, and something with pearl buttons,” he said. “It’s simultaneously being reverent and irreverent. I think our bride loves the romance of a beautiful wedding and loves the traditions associated with it, but at the same time, she’s inventing her own traditions a little bit and making her own rules. Like Mrs. Herrera, she’s a confident woman.”
(edited)
