Fall/Winter ‘14 Season Madeline E. M. Mason
International Wedding Gowns
International Bridal Report In many cultures, wearing white is not appropriate for weddings. The tradition of wearing white was only recently created-- about 200 years ago. In India it is worn to funerals, and if worn by a bride in China, her parents would not allow her to get married. Red symbolizes happiness, good luck, fortune, prosperity, and passion. Red will be a common color in this collection. I believe it is important to have more options for wedding gowns for cultural brides for their comfort. Weddings are a dreamt by women from childhood. They should be able to have the perfect wedding gown, too.
Persona: Mahima Venkatesh [fiancé Rahul Prasad] They met in medical school and after a year of dating other people, realized that they loved each other. Now, they are Indian doctors in the United States and have decided they have a stable income and relationship enough to get married. They decided to have an “American” wedding because they want to have all of their friends be there and Mahima fell in love with the traditional styled wedding gowns. Her issue is that both she and Rahul are Hindu and need to follow the guidelines of their religion and customs. Mahima cannot wear white to her wedding. Red is the color of Indian brides When Mahima stumbles upon my wedding collection, she is able to find a red, traditional styled gown. This is the type of woman the international bridal gowns are created for—a cultural woman with unique taste. Though I used an Indian woman as my persona, she does not have to be Indian. The forecast targets women of all cultures (Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern gowns will be mostly described within this piece).
Indian Infused Bridal Indian women are very extravagant when it comes to weddings. Brides are heavily decorated with gold, large jewelry; henna on their feet, hands, arms, legs, etc.; and amazing detailing on their dresses. For this subtrend, the dresses could still have Americanized gown styles, like ball gown, A-line, mermaid, fit and flare, etc. The dresses would be varying tones of red, though, not white. The dresses would be detailed in gold tulle and jewel pieces. The details would reflect the patterns in henna, so that the dress still feels cultural, despite the silhouette being nontraditional for an Indian wedding. 51% of Indian Americans are Hindu and 10% are Muslim. According to the 2010 United States Census, the Asian Indian population in the United States grew from almost 1,678,765 in 2000 to 2,843,391 in 2010. It is of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, therefore, they should be represented in the bridal market. There would be heavy profit by adopting Indian culture in bridal fashion.
Color Swatches: Blissful Pink, Clover Green, Sensual Red, Cherry Blossom Red, Radiant Gold
Chiffon Silk Satin Georgette
Chinese Infused Bridal Chinese brides are very traditional. While the women are generally very reserved, their wedding is their time to be extravagant. They wear very rich colors. This line would have very bright red fabrics with gold floral patterns. The veils will include jeweled flower pieces. There are 3,794,673 Chinese Americans in the United States, the majority being Buddhist (so they would not wear the “traditional” white gown). The Chinese believe wearing brighter-coloured clothes, especially the colour red is auspicious as it is believed that the colour red can bring good luck and prosperity. This wedding dress would only be worn for special occasions. These dresses would still have Americanized gown styles, like ball gown, A-line, mermaid, fit and flare, etc. Like the other dresses, there would not be any white based dresses.
Color Swatches: Robin Egg’s Blue, Lush Green, Lipstick Red, Foreign Fuscia, Harvest Gold
Chiffon Silk Satin Georgette
Middle Eastern Infused Bridal There are nearly 3.5 million Arab Americans in the United States according to The Arab American Institute. Arab-Americans live in all 50 states and in Washington, D.C. - and 94% reside in the metropolitan areas of major cities. Middle Eastern women adorn themselves in gold and jewels and many different colors of fabric. This subtrend will have jewels and gold pieces placed on the dress in patterns that resemble jewelry along the wait, neckline, and hips. The pieces are oftend shaped like tear drops. The fabrics will mostly be dark and rich colors. A white base wil not be involved in the line. This subtrend will still have Americanized gown styles, like ball gown, A-line, mermaid, fit and flare, etc.
Color Swatches: Luscious Red, Sea Coral, Olive Tan, Brilliant Turquoise, Coffee Creme
Chiffon Silk Satin Georgette
Vera Wang Vera Wang would be an excellent designer to adopt the “International Bridal� trend. She already experiements with different colors for wedding gowns. She uses different styles of silhouettes for the gowns and intriquate detail with ruffles, beading, etc. As an ethnic woman, also, she would understand the importance of having culturally specific bridal
Credit: Alexander Hernandez- Hispanic American Sharon Luu - Chinese American Mahima Venkatesh- Indian American Marie Marto-Frank-Middle Eastern American http://www.sierrablancophoto.com/2010/05/prachie-and-aaron-wedding-part-2.html http://theyoungbridesguide.wordpress.com/tag/cultural-weddings/ http://costumehistoryisfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/brides-of-arab-world-palestine.html http://costumehistoryisfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/brides-of-arab-world-kuwait-and-qatar.html