Contemporary Vintage dresses

As promised, I am going to share some of my favourite bridal collections for 2009. Vintage is still a key influence this season. It's great to see how bridal designers are creating stunning gowns with the most beautiful decorative detailing and silhouettes.

Claire Pettibone is a designer from Los Angeles who likes to give vintage style a contemporary twist. Her 2009 ' Rock n Roll Bridal' collection is full of floaty fabrics with exquisite embroidery and beading detail. Her inspiration seems to be slightly at odds with her rock and roll theme though! -

I was looking at wedding cakes…spun sugar, sparkle, layering, and embellishments for very feminine, fresh, young pretty dresses with little touches of color.

It's good to see that romance and rock 'n roll can go hand in hand!

Fascinator Hat

Recently I had the opportunity to design a headpiece for a mother of the bride. The starting point for this commission was the Louise Kennedy outfit that she had chosen to wear. The dress, seen above is a truly classic style with simple, elegant lines. The navy and cream colour combination is dramatic yet under-stated and the graphic floral design is very striking.

My client wanted a small headpiece that would complement her outfit. She is not someone who likes wearing large hats or fussy headpieces so I suggested the simple form of a small fascinator hat. Once we had tried on an example of this type of hair accessory, I was able to discuss lots of different possibilities for embellishing the form.

French navy veil netting was a perfect match for the outfit. Cream pearls were a lovely way of introducing the cream colour. I designed a pearl and rhinestone flower detail to add a little drama to the piece. I also worked some tiny pearls into the netting.

I love designing custom pieces like this and it is also an enjoyable experience for the client to be involved in the design process!

Cake Opera

Eating Eurovision cup-cakes got me thinking of the wonderful art of cake decoration and how popular individual cakes have become as an alternative to traditional tiered wedding cakes! I came across an amazing cake website called Cake Opera Company, (pictured above), and love how Alexandria Pellegrino is inspired by both her background in Fine Art and Pastry as well as a passion for all things Venetian!

Alexandria explains how she chose the name for her cake business -

"The name Cake Opera Co. came to me in two ways...Opera, the Italian word for "life work" or opus seemed fitting at the time I was developing my company. Designing and creating exquisite cakes was the perfect marriage of my life long passion for the art and baking. Also, the word "cake" is so unpretentious and lovely while the word "Opera" is so theatrical and vibrant. Together they seem to conjure up a beautiful synthesis of magic and enchantment."

Check out the wonderful Cake Opera website... and read my follow-up article about Cake Opera and the amazing Dulce Delight.

Basso & Brooke

This designer duo create clothes using the most amazing fabrics. Vibrant colours and patterns are combined to startling effect. These collections might inspire a colour palette for a wedding or even your favourite room.

I love the silhouette of the dress above with it's flowing lines and graphic patterns. It's like a modern take on the Grecian style dress. It would also make a beautiful wedding dress in these or other colours. I suppose it also helps that the model is ten feet tall!

You can view a range of interesting designers including Basso & Brooke at Blow