cream lace — Liliana Schaber

Making a bespoke wedding dress can be difficult, as a lot is at stake. It takes a clear vision of the bride, but at the same time, there needs to be enough room for changes, that will inevitably happen. And it needs one strong opinion, as many people have an idea about this one dress, and yet it is up to the bride to decide for herself. It tends to be made out of expensive materials, and yet there is always a budget that should not be exceeded. And then there are just in general mounds of expectations, and a lot of pressure, to create the perfect, the ideal dress.

This wedding dress is as unconventional as the bride herself, but still has a timeless quality to it. The silhouette is classic, lean and very elegant, the small train adds not only the illusion of hight, but behaves beautifully in movement.
It is actually not a complete dress, but consists of a separate lace top and a long, flowing skirt. The idea is that the bride can wear both pieces separately, in her day-to-day life, and style them with different items, to create a completely new look each time. Think high waisted, wide-leg trousers for an elegant look or skinny jeans for a more casual style. The skirt can be dressed up or down as well, it will look totally different if combined with a leather jacket for example. The goal was to give the bride two classic pieces, that work just as well together as a whole as when worn separately.
Also, wedding dresses are the ultimate occasion piece, the once-in-a-lifetime dress. I think that is kind of sad and actually quite wasteful, so creating the possibility to wear it again was one of my priorities. Together with the bride, we wanted to create something classic, that will still look relevant in years to come, and something she could enjoy wearing more often and not just on this one day. See this post as an example of how to re-wear the skirt!

To bring in the classical element, I used the finest materials possible: wispy cream Italian lace and fine silk chiffon in a matching champagne colour. The beautiful border of the lace was used at the cuffs and at the hem of the top, and the silk acted as the underlining as well. The skirt is gathered at the waist and finishes with a narrow waistband, which closes with a little heart button. There is a special touch to the inside of the skirt as well: The loops to hang the skirt are made out of light blue silk ribbon, to add the ‘something blue’ in a playful way.

Altogether, this was a beautiful project, and I am so happy to have been part of it. It took a long time, from concept to finished dress, but the whole journey was truly enjoyable. When the bride is happy, I am happy and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

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