BEHIND THE DRESS | OLYMPIA
Ivory and nude hand-draped tulle soft mermaid gown with hand-appliqué Chantilly lace skirt accented by tulle overlay.
The bride who enters the stage in Olympia is taking her place within an eternal work of art. It’s formal, with a touch of classical Greek influence, but it’s also sensual, like great Greek sculptures. In keeping with the themes of this season’s collection, I’ve transformed the iconic white sheath into something sexy and convoluted and dynamic, and very alive. This look invites us into the drama of the siren bride — soft and winsome, but wielding that wild, voluptuous power that we all thrill to. The siren is so easy to fall in love with. This is the perfect setting, the perfect theater, for everyone at her ceremony to be a part of that story.
The bodice has a sweetheart neckline with structural support within, and then precisely engineered draping without, so it cinches the waist, sculpts the torso, and gives form and drama to the bustline. Every curve is positioned to marvelous effect. And then you have the asymmetrical tulle straps just gently setting off her bare shoulders and collarbones. This bride has a strong sensual side, but she also wants to feel delicate and cherished on her wedding day.
The lace appliqué in the skirt works its way up onto the bodice, so that it appears as one continuous element. The skirt is a triple layer: that beloved bridal trinity of chiffon, lace and tulle. We began with these lovely traditional materials, and then transformed them into something that feels so contemporary because it’s so delicate, so evanescent! The skirt’s chrysanthemum pattern brings it all together. This is a big, bold lacework element I’ve featured before, and it’s such a fresh contemporary effect, hovering over that chiffon.
Olympia feels like a true work of art. It’s a pillar of white, luminous and pure, like a Greek marble. And it offers up all the timeless sweet seduction in our siren bride: “Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,” as the poet John Keats wrote, in his “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!”
