FashionBride  interviewed bridal designer Ines di Santo. The talented designer told us about the way she decided to design, about her favorite gowns and the way she created the bridal gown for her daughter.

Enjoy!

ines di santo

Tell us what were the reasons that determinate you to became a fashion designer?

As a very young girl, I was very interested in fashion design. I made clothes for my friends when I was 15 for those celebrating their fifteenth birthdays in Argentina where I grew up after I moved there form Italy. From that point I just kept creating clothing and further advancing my skills.

And why the special interest for the bridal industry?

When I was designing evening wear in the 80’s all the rules could be broken but bridal provided an even bigger challenge and presented a landscape that was unexplored in my opinion.

Some of the best designers in the world are born in Italy. Do you think your background influenced in any way your creations?

Yes, I think that the Italian culture and passion for the arts is something that every Italian lives out everyday whether it is with food or fashion. 

Talk us trough the process of making a gown. And tell us if you have a special way of designing (maybe some superstitions when designing?)

I design gowns that are made in the French tradition of “Couture”. My garments are meticulously constructed and I use only the finest of silks and embroideries to create a garment that moves well and feels amazing and above all looks and fits like a glove. 

Do you have a favorite gown? One that you’ve created and has a special meaning. And if so, what does it make it so special?

I think of all my gowns as my children. I do not have a favorite as each ones has brought me one step closer to the expertise and knowledge I hold today.

You’ve designed your daughter’s gown. How did that feel?

It was the most amazing and exhilarating project for me to date. It was wrapped with such emotion that every drape and every aspect of those designs were so passionate and exciting for me.

How do you see a perfect bride? What should she wear?

Every dress is a personality. For me, the best dress is the one that brings out your best features and makes you feel your best.

Do you prefer a more conventional style or go for the avant guard when designing your collections?

I like an eclectic mix that presents styles that are fresh and new but reminiscent of something of the past as all fashion is cyclical so it is inevitably going to be as such.

What about white, should a bride consider having a different color for her dress? Do you approve such an approach  ?

A brides’ choice for color should be something special and personal. Often times we look better in something other than white. Other times the style itself beckons for a particular color as in the case for lace. For me lace is best when it is not pure white.

Tell us some more about your 2009 collection.  What are the novelties that Ines di Santo brings?

The 2009 Collection will be presented in October and it is an absolute secret!

Last but not least, do you have an advice for FashionBride readers?

Limit your search to your favorite 3 designers. Visit a maximum of 5 salons. Select gowns that match your personality and personal style to avoid feeling like you are having an out of body experience!

Alfred Angelo is one of the most recognized brand of bridal apparel around the globe. For nearly 75 years they have been dressing brides and the members of their wedding party in elegant and affordable gowns.

FashionBride managed to talk to the renowned Alfred Angelo’s designer, Michael Shettel who managed to give us some insight details on what lies behind those wonderful collections.

When did you decide to become a designer  and why  a focus on brides?

I studied Fashion Design at FIT in New York.  Graduated with an Associate degree, then went back for a BFA, also from FIT, both in the early 1980’s.  I then went on to work with some of fashion’s iconic figures, such as Irving Penn, Diana Vreeland, M. Hubert de Givenchy in Paris, Tommy Hilfiger, Arnold Scassi, Georgio Sant’Angelo, and Hanae Mori.  All were amazing experiences, and provided a wealth of knowledge to me, not only about the person, but about their specialty in the fashion industry.  Each job was different and allowed me to put to work my schooling and see the relevance of it in the fashion industry as a whole, which gave me a wonderful perspective.  

I started working with Alfred Angelo in 1999, and have been designing with them ever since.  Bridal has been such a wonderful experience because it allows me the opportunity to work directly with the customers on many occasions.  It affords me the luxury of making elegant and beautiful gowns every season, that will always have special meaning for the wearer well after the day.

How did your first wedding gown looked like? Do you remember, can you describe it a bit?

The first wedding dress I designed was for my brother’s fiance.  It was a Christmas wedding, she wore a French Vanilla Silk Satin ball gown with  vintage ivory lace and crystal beading. We knew it was going to be cold so I added a fur trimmed cape.

Tell us about your inspiration and a bit more about the process of creating a gown.

Every season is inspired by some idea, photo or event.  Last season was a trip to Butterfly World in Florida. This season’s collection is definitely inspired by our 75th Anniversary.  To look back on our storied history and see what beautiful gowns came before, and then create a new classic in modern fabrics and silhouettes was such a wonderful opportunity and challenge.

How long does it take to create a brand new gown?

From concept and sketch to exacting original patterns, sewing, embroidery and beading designs to finessing….finessing and many fittings..8-10 weeks.

Do you also work with brides? Or you just offer them a given pattern?

I love working with the brides!  It’s, hands down, the best part of my job.  To be able to have that one on one experience with a bride in helping her choose her perfect dress for the biggest day of her life, and getting to know her personality and style, then knowing when you’ve found “her” dress….it doesn’t get much better than that.

Have you got any particular dress you designed and has a very special meaning for you? A dress that you remember and care about?

I think this 2009 collection is very special to me because of what it signifies…Alfred Angelo’s presence in the bridal industry for 75 years.  We are one of very few companies in bridal to have survived so long and also still remain a family owned company.  There’s a lot of history here, and we are celebrating that this season.

Do you think a bride should stick to white in a more traditional approach ? Or should we start thinking in colors?

Alfred Angelo loves incorporating variety into our designs.  We are one of the bridal companies at the forefront of blending color into white gowns and presenting gowns that are not white at all. 

Adding a splash of color is one way to add a modern and contemporary spin on a traditional white gown. In every collection we offer new styles in our wildly popular Dream In Color^TM collection.   The response to Dream In Color^TM  has been so overwhelming because it allows the bride to be a part of the design of her gown and adds an additional level of personalization.  

What I’ve learned working with the brides is that they really want to be part of the design process.  By allowing them to have a dress that comes in ivory or white with 55 different colors to add to a panel train, a trim on a neckline, or a sash, they really become part of the design process.  By offering 55 colors in our color palette, the bride can personalize her wedding to her linens, flowers, bridal party, the overall theme of their wedding, making it truly one-of-a-kind.  We also have the ability of ordering extra fabric for the groomsmen’s waistcoats or cravats, if the bride so desires.  Adding color allows her to use her imagination and create her own theme in order to best express her individuality.  

From your point of view, how should a perfect bride be?  What  do you have to offer and other  brands don’t.

All brides should remain calm.  First and foremost, relax and enjoy her day!!!!  She will glow!!!

Alfred Angelo offers amazing styling and inside construction…our fit will make any bride confidant.

Why do you think your gowns stay apart from the crowd?

Alfred Angelo really believes the bride is a variety of people, from different body shapes, heights, backgrounds and sizes, and we encompass every woman when creating the collections.  We design a variety of styles, but ultimately want to highlight and accentuate a woman’s body so she feels her best on her big day. We want to make all childhood dress up fantasies a reality, no matter what size and shape the bride is.

Since Alfred Angelo’s core philosophy is designing for  “every” woman, we offer the sizes of the modern woman.  And the modern woman ranges in sizes 2-28W, sometimes smaller, and sometimes larger.  Every single bride deserves to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world on her wedding day.  Our stockists allow us to help fulfill that fairy tale dream…for every woman.  A bride is a bride, and they all deserve to be beautiful.

Can you give us an insight on your 2009 Collection? What where your inspiration sources, what did you opt for as materials, shapes etc.

Spring 2009 is about light and airy chiffons, silks, beaded netting and tulles…fabrics that flow and glide when the bride walks across the room, giving the bride an ethereal quality. These fabrics are also easily manipulated to add texture or the illusion of texture, depending on the design of the dress. 

We are still showing  the slim and sleek silhouette that has been popular.  Modern brides are looking for sinewy shapes in supple fabrics that accentuate a woman’s body in all of the right places.  Fit and Flare and Mermaid silhouettes are popular for brides who love showing their well-toned bodies or natural curves.

This season, we introduced new mermaid and trumpet shaped gowns to really flatter the figure, in addition to the classic strapless, a-line shapes we are known for.  The new silhouettes give women with curves another option to celebrate their bodies.  The styles for 2009 reflect my inspirations, and are a combination of feminine, glamorous, sophisticated, and sometimes classic styles.

Last but not least, do you have an advice for FashionBride readers?

Splurge….treat yourself…..remember it’s all about you!!! Have a ball!!

Getting to interview a designer is a privilege, in words you discover a world that can be seen only in wonderful creations, a world that will reveal to us only when we’ll get the chance to wear such incredible designs.

I’ve tried to get Charlotte Leung (the designer behind the Augusta Jones Brand) to answer the basic questions and give us a n inside view on how you can turn some materials into a dream gown.

When did you decided to become a designer and why a focus on brides?

It wasn’t any particular plan. I left a career in banking for something “more me”. I hadn’t a clue what – only that I wanted the next thing in my life to be creative and project based. It was pure serendipity that a mutual friend put me in touch with a Bridal Designer who needed help launching her collection in Europe. Having grown up with exposure to the fashion industry through my Mother. who was both a model and designer in the 70’s, I found it surprisingly natural to step into this world. My step-mother, June, who is a little younger than me teamed up with me a couple of years into my own business and now heads the design team.

How did your first wedding gown looked like? Do you remember, can you describe it a bit?

One of our first designs was a strapless corset and it sold like hotcakes. It was trimmed with a 50’s cuff with piped seams to accentuate a waistline. This was in the late 90’s before strapless was considered a “bridal” option.

Tell us about your inspiration and a bit more about the process of creating a gown.

Travel has heavily influenced our work. India has given us a real appreciation for rich beading design; China and Japan for delicate embroidery techniques.  We start each collection with a general idea of what we like, then go through an initial round of sketches and finally we fine tune these ideas with sample gowns on mannequins – last season was more 70’s inspired and we designed around beautiful rhinestone broaches that were used to clasp chiffon trains. We were both in the mood for lighter more carefree attitude to the gowns.

How long does it take to create a brand new gown?

It can take up to 3 months to develop a particular dress – to get it just right requires back and forth between us and the sample room.

Do you also work with brides? Or you just offer them a given pattern?

We have in the past when we had a shop. It was great fun pulling a look together for a bride as you really got to know everything about the wedding. The way we work now is through the excellent shops who sell our gowns.

Have you got any particular dress you designed and has a very special meaning for you? A dress that you remember and care about?

We once designed a fully embroidered blue denim wedding gown for a catwalk finale. I thought it would be a fun surprise and there were plenty of smiles at the show when the model stepped out. We had a version in ivory for brides too. No one was more surprised than me when we actually took orders in blue denim for brides!

Do you think a bride should stick to white in a more traditional approach ? Or should we start thinking in colors?

I love colour but there is something incredibly special about a gown made in shades of white. Nothing says “I am a bride” quite like a white, ivory or cream gown does. We have played with colour on white, ivory and cream – with barely there hints of dusty pinks and mint greens. At the moment we have returned to a cleaner palette.

In your point of view, how should a perfect bride be? What do you have to offer and other brands don’t.

My idea, back in the late 90s, was to give the bride as much input into the design of her gown as possible. So we design with a certain inbuilt flexibility to our styles where brides can individualize the gowns to suit their requirements better. Our gowns come with a select variety of options on fabric; of beadwork as well as simple changes to necklines. My idea of a perfect bride is someone who not only feels confident and special in her gown but ultimately she should feel relaxed and be herself.

Why do you think your gowns stay apart from the crowd?

I guess we simply design what we like. We find that styles we designed 2 seasons earlier suddenly become popular so we joke that we are fashion forward.

Can you give us an insight on your 2009 Collection? What where your inspiration sources, what did you opt for as materials, shapes etc.

Our current collection can be divided into two looks; the first is structured with pleating and folds moulding to the body. The second is more romantic in tone – lighter and carefree. Chameuse, soft tulles and lace dominate though we are also using chiffons, satins, Thai silks, mikados and organzas.

How was your gown when you got married?

The irony is we eloped and got married by a river in the Napa valley, California. It wasn’t planned, so no dress. I wore black jeans and a white t-shirt. The witness who we had just met, cried. It was really sweet! I wouldn’t change a thing – it was perfect for us.

Last but not least, do you have any advice for FashionBride readers?

Plan what you can and don’t worry about the rest.

ps: great advice Charlotte!!! 😀