Day 1 of New York Bridal Fashion Week!
Spring in New York is always such a lovely idea, especially when it is New York Bridal Fashion Week! We are in the big apple once again, bringing all of our favorites designers and their new collections right to you, which is so fun!
Thursday was the first official day of NYBFW, and we started our day bright and early with designer Gracy Accad. Gracy was inspired by her life long love of ballet for her new collection. Full of light and airy pieces, including hand painted details it was romantic and fun and it felt really approachable to me. Gracy Accad likes to stay true to her love of textiles, textures, and refined embellishment and she really did that – I wanted to keep seeing more!
After Gracy, we dashed across the city (which is the norm during NYBFW. The shows are never close by or in any kind of natural order so you spend half the day in the car just trying to get places, LOL). Theia was next up, and it was incredible! Inspired by all things royal (definitely something that has been very prominent this year because of the upcoming royal wedding), the collection included signature ball gowns, gilded scroll work, and baroque tapestry brocades. The hair and makeup were gorgeous also. I am always a fan of a gorgeous crown! The signature ball gowns included crystal and pearl encrusted bodices, and ornate crystal beadwork actually inspired by tiaras and crown jewels. The collection definitely felt regal!
Next up for the day, a personal favorite. Romona Keveza, and her gorgeous penthouse at Rockefeller plaza. This place, these dresses and this designer are all iconic. I look forward to seeing her presentations every season. Romona herself typically explains the inspiration behind each collection, and it is really impactful to hear the story of each collection directly from the designer herself. She talked about how important it is to her to hand sew and hand select fabrics. By being there and speaking with the group gathered in the space (maybe 10 – 15 people at a time), she offers those people an opportunity to really be a part of her world for those moments and it is really special. As many of you may know I wore Romona Keveza for my own wedding. The fit, the construction and the craftsmanship behind each gown is unreal. My gown took 5 months to make. Which is truly a work of art, just like each of the pieces we saw yesterday. The presentation started with her new “Romona New York” collection for brides that love Romona style but have a budget of $3,000 or less. it is youthful and whimsical and really beautiful.
After that, she presented her “Legends” collection, a classic line of gowns that this season were all named after women that Romona considered to be royal (or were in fact royal), and what she thought their dress would look like today if they were married. From Jackie Kennedy to Wallis Simpson and from Rita Hayworth to Carolyn Kennedy, she brought the timeless beauty, grace and style of these women to life with her own incredible interpretation.
…and then, she presents Romona Keveza Collection. Which for me is a penultimate collection of incredible every single season. For this collection she was inspired by royal places, every single location one that you most certainly would want to visit, let alone get married at. From Windsor Castle to Villa D’Este, and from Versailles to La Scala, there were simple lines, beautiful lace, ultra feminine everything and veils that were to DIE for. I can never get enough! I had the privilege of speaking with Romona and their amazing brand spokeswoman, Jolene after the presentation and as always, it was such a privilege. I had to say thank you to her for how she made me feel on my wedding day, it was a lovely moment and one I will always remember. I feel so lucky to know that incredible talent that created my gown for me, and all of these absolutely stunning gowns as well.
After Romona, we popped from 1 Rockefeller center over to the Lotte NY Palace hotel (another favorite, that courtyard!) to catch the Monique Lhuillier collection. Set in a gorgeous room full of cherry blossoms that were so abundant you could actually catch the perfume in the air before you walked in. The gowns were inspired by all things majestic (see again: ROYAL), and that included the proportions. Huge trains, long veils, intricate lace and some serious ballgowns (also something we saw a LOT of!). complete with demure necklines and even sleeves! (how long have I been hoping for sleeves in bridal!?!?) This was a really pretty collection:
After Monique, we were off to the NY public library to see Reem Acra. I am sure I don’t need to tell you that going to this show in a place like the New York library is beyond special. Reem Acra was inspired by angels for this collection. Signature elements like her gorgeous bows and incredible attention to detail were front and center in this collection. It was ethereal, and the models carrying fresh spring floral complimented by their floral crowns really brought that thematic undertone to life. For me, the little things like the doves on the wrist of one of the models is what I love best about Reem Acra. the tiniest of details is meticulously thought about. SO cool. Even more cool? Each guest that attended the show walked out with a copy of “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran, one of my all time favorite books. Knowing that the book played a role in her inspiration was really neat!
The day came to a close with Mira Zwillinger. Here, there was no royal inspiration, but instead the knowledge that winter had arrived and the “Queen of Ice” was upon the 2019 collection. There were sweetheart gowns and illusion cap sleeves. There were incredible capes and mixed metals that made this a really layered, interesting collection (as always!). Immediately following the finish, serves made sure to get guests a guest of hubby to celebrate the great show!
Day 1 is a wrap! Needless to say, it was exciting but oh so tiring, LOL! All photos are courtesy of Collin Pierson Photography, and congratulations to all of the designers for showing such beautiful collections!
