Brides of New Zealand suffer no longer… The first ever New Zealand Bridal Fashion Week has just waved adieu with whispers and gossipy hearsay of many, many more to come!
Brides of New Zealand suffer no longer… The first ever New Zealand Bridal Fashion Week has just waved adieu with whispers and gossipy hearsay of many, many more to come!
No longer will we be confined to our Great Auntie’s mother’s daughter-in-law from her second marriage who is dating a wedding dressmaker. No, Kate Sheppard would be proud of what the brides of New Zealand have demanded. We now have free choice and no better choice than in wedding gowns. BFW showed designers from all over the world and our own talented bunch, including the debut of the wedding collection by Sera Lilly.
The runway shows were set in the tres cultured dome of the Auckland Museum on 2nd and 3rd April.
As a perpetually single lady there are two things I avoid like a breast-feeding mother avoids crying babies; 1) buying meat for one and 2) wedding shows. The latter had been my rule of thumb until – adorning a borrowed ring to ensure I looked the part – I set off to have a peek at white frocks by Liz Mitchell, Alison Blain, Vinka Design, John Zimmerman, Ruben Perlotti and Cymbeline.
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Although I find glistening crystals enticing I think they are best suited to a gypsy crystal shop, not a wedding dress. This is mainly because the brides I have seen sometimes look as if they have been attacked by a three year old with a bedazzle gun. The dresses by Vinka Design however, are possibly the only gowns I have seen that have been ‘bedazzled’ and yet are quite beautiful. They look as if they have been hand-sewn on by a ninety-year-old Amish woman whose sole life purpose is handy crafts. Beautiful.
For such a wee man John Zimmerman’s designs scream glamour with a touch of grandiosity. I’m partial to a bit of yesteryear glamour and adored its presence, which was weaved into this collection. It said, “I’m from old money and have two last names” – good work Master John!
Lastly I think it is important to mention Ruben Perlotti. I don’t want to discourage international designers from showing in our petite land but let’s be honest: you can take Ruben Perlotti out of Spain but you can’t take Spain out of Ruben Perlotti. It may be the right time to mention that one of his designs was a deep berry red gown with something growing off the shoulder – this dress was made in honour of our own Dame Kiri te Kanawa. I’m just going to go ahead and RSVP back to Perlotti on this one: The Dame will not get married wearing this dress. Lo Sentiomos.
Nuff said, when my times up I’m gonna come-a-knocking John Zimmerman.
For more information visit www.bridalfashionweek.co.nz
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By Samantha Mockett 5 April 2011.
Photography by Emily Raffills.
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