TOP TRENDS

Veils

Showing everyone who the bride is. According to social media there is a trend for MOGs to wear white dresses/bridal dresses to weddings (“grow up” is the comment that springs to mind!). On Barcelona’s catwalk, veils were out in force… so romantic.

Big

More and more grand dresses – there will be plenty of sweeping down the aisles in 2024. I liked how fresh Pronovias and Marylise interpretations looked, chic and understatedly elegant. And there were plenty of really huge dresses from The Atelier run by Prof Jimmy Choo! And Julia Kontogruni.

Colour

Not just to keep you warm, but to add style and impact; some I can see working for Register Office weddings. Carlo Pignatelli’s tailoring was superb, whereas the Jesus Peiro coat would be perfect over most wedding dresses. Coat on in Church and off to show the slinky dress underneath for dancing the night away.

Beading, shine, sparkle

Sparkle, whether lurex, beading, satin or sequins, there will be a lot of happy shiny people everywhere. Big applause goes to Modeca, and a new designer for me, Pedro Palmas.

Lace

Used by everyone. Romantic dresses and sassy dresses, lace is still a firm favourite, even on the boys. Key lace users were Demetrios and Ines di Santo.

Strapless

Can be boring but at BBFW we saw more structure in corset tops, allowing fabric to almost free fall like at Marylise and Sophie et Viola, a modern take on tradition.

Beading, shine, sparkle

Sparkle, whether lurex, beading, satin or sequins, there will be a lot of happy shiny people everywhere. Big applause goes to Modeca, and a new designer for me, Pedro Palmas.

Lace

Used by everyone. Romantic dresses and sassy dresses, lace is still a firm favourite, even on the boys. Key lace users were Demetrios and Ines di Santo.

Strapless

Can be boring but at BBFW we saw more structure in corset tops, allowing fabric to almost free fall like at Marylise and Sophie et Viola, a modern take on tradition.

Two pieces

Cymbeline flashed a little flesh, Rosa Clara quite a lot, and it was great to see something a little different and less traditional. However, I can see eyes rolling when brides show family members their dream dress, but for hot weddings abroad, look no further for inspo.

Capes

Swishing down the runway, whether attached or separate, the cape was everywhere, perfect for the non-veil bride.

Shoulder Sleeves

The new areas of interest and great to see so much variety. Joli Poli had the ultimate in drama for the “when does a sleeve become cape?” story, and Isabel Sanchis showed the biggest one shoulder dress, that actually worked for me, (one for the window as I’m not sure how you’d hang it up!).

Coats

Coats. Not just to keep you warm, but to add style and impact; some I can see working for Register Office weddings. Carlo Pignatelli’s tailoring was superb, whereas the Jesus Peiro coat would be perfect over most wedding dresses. Coat on in Church and off to show the slinky dress underneath for dancing the night away.

3-D Flowers

Not just for hair, there seemed to be a bit of a trend for attached blooms. Madeline Collection by Madeline Gardner, looked stunning with a scattering of flowers all over the dresses, and YolanCris went large on the hip with a single camellia.

Curve

Loved all the collections that showed that fashion can be shown beautifully on women over a size 12. It’s taken a long time but great to see.