Here are our picks of the trends you’ll be seeing most this year.
by Chris Gigley
You can learn a lot from a wedding dress. The color, style and shape of
a gown provide a good measure of the bride’s style—and maybe even her
budget. Knowing what’s hot in bridal gowns can help you create modern
bouquets for today’s fashion-conscious brides.
Editors from WeddingChannel.com;
TheKnot.com; and The Knot, Brides,
Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines as well as other media outlets
observed the latest fashions at New York Bridal Market Week last
October. What they saw showed an appreciation for simple, subtle designs
and colors.
Below, we break down bridal gown design trends by style, color and form,
to help you stay one step ahead of this year’s
crop of brides.
Bridal Fashion Trends at a
glance
• Floral patterns, Floral accents
• Sparkling accents
• Steel gray accents
• Jewel-tone accents
• Various shades of yellow
• Antique influences
• Dresses made of organic silks
and cottons
• Flowing, sheer fabrics
• Layered skirts
• Flared skirts
• Short skirts
• Asymmetrical necklines
• Wraps and shawls
style Flowers
still have power. (main,
right) Designers continue to embellish wedding gowns and
bridesmaids dresses with floral accents, and these accents were
everywhere at Bridal Market Week. For 2008, however, design
interpretations range from intricate floral patterns and
sophisticated accents to huge fabric blooms at the waist, the
shoulder and the small of the back. Brides wearing these dresses
likely will be more hands-on and particular with their floral
choices.
The
past is present.
(right) One overarching trend in
bridal design is the antique influence. For wedding gowns, that
means delicate fabrics such as tulle and accents such as beaded
straps and lace sleeves. You can easily infuse a vintage vibe
into bouquets with accents similar to those that give the gowns
an antique aesthetic.
Bling
is the thing. (right)
Another way designers are adding some oomph to gowns this year
is with sparkling accents. They’re putting beading, crystals and
other touches on the waist, the entire bodice or even the whole
dress. Brides love it. You can add bling to your bridal
bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and more with the jeweled pins,
metallic wires, metallic paints, glitter sprays and other
accents offered by floral industry suppliers.
Green
is good. (right)
Environmentally friendly isn’t a huge trend in wedding gowns,
but it’s gaining some momentum. More brides are donning
eco-friendly wedding dresses made of organic silks and cottons.
And the green movement is showing up in virtually every other
bridal category: Couples are serving free-range chicken and
buying conflict-free diamond rings. For these brides, consider
mentioning your access to flowers produced in accordance with
environmental and social responsibility standards. (To learn
more about “green labels” for flowers, see our June 2007 issue,
Page 51, or click on
www.floristsreview.com/main/june/featurestory.html.)
beyond the dress
Brides are expressing themselves via accessories and hair
styles, which gives you an even better read on the kinds of
products and services they’ll want.
Accessory Trends
Wraps and shawls were big at last October’s Bridal Market Week
in New York City. Lightweight fabrics such as organza and
chiffon are used for spring and summer while winter
interpretations come in faux fur, velvet, heavy satin or
pashmina. For necklaces and earrings, brides still want pearls,
rhinestones and crystals.
Hair Trends
Hairstyles vary greatly from bride to bride, but hair ornaments
such as hairpins and hair vines made with crystals, pearls,
rhinestones and/or fabric flowers are popular. Also, more brides
are placing their veils directly on their hair or using a single
fabric flower for a simple look.
color
These trends in color are being seen this wedding season both as
accents on bridal gowns and as the main colors in bridesmaids
apparel.
Gray
is the new brown. (right)
According to editors at The Knot, steel gray is the new accent
color of choice among bridal fashion designers. The appeal is
the greater versatility of gray, which looks good with
everything from pale pink to bright aqua. This provides brides
with more freedom to play with color in their bouquets.
Jewel tones.
(below) Bright pinks, clarets, purples, blues, blue-greens and
greens are still showing up, but this year, the trend for these
hues is as accents to grays, whites and other muted hues.
Bouquets comprising blossoms in jewel tones are the best accents
of all, and they can coordinate with the colorful accents on the
dresses.
Hello
to yellow. (right) Various
chromas and values of yellow are all over new wedding fashions.
Designers love the freshness and energy it adds to dresses without being
overpowering. Yellow is also versatile, the top buzzword in bridal for
the past few years. Soft yellows and bright yellows go well with almost
everything. Get out your color wheel, and review all the exciting color
harmonies you can create with florals to coordinate with yellow gowns
(complementary, split complementary, analogous, monochromatic, triadic
and so on).
form Sweeping
lines. (right) Flowing fabrics
were a big hit at Bridal Market Week. More gown designers are using
chiffon, tulle and other light fabrics to create the illusion of
movement in their dresses and add softness to the gowns. Designers and
brides alike enjoy the graceful ethereal effect of the flowing skirts as
brides walk down the aisle.
Layer upon layer.
Gowns with layered skirts create a textured, sophisticated look that
implies quality and craftsmanship.
Flared
skirts. (right) Many gowns this
year feature modified A-lines (slim through the waist with dramatic
structured skirts), trumpets and mermaids, and dropped waists. These
forms not only give the dresses a sense of drama but also showcase toned
brides’ bodies.
Short
skirts. (right) It was bound to
happen. Hemlines are on the rise. Many designers at Bridal Market Week
featured at least one short wedding dress in their new collections, from
dare-to-bare micro minis to longer tea lengths.
Asymmetrical
necklines. (right) This is
another example of designers adding drama and sophistication to their
gowns. Taking their cues from the Grecian look, one-shoulder dresses
were all over the runways in New York City.
Flowers
still have power. (main,
right) Designers continue to embellish wedding gowns and
bridesmaids dresses with floral accents, and these accents were
everywhere at Bridal Market Week. For 2008, however, design
interpretations range from intricate floral patterns and
sophisticated accents to huge fabric blooms at the waist, the
shoulder and the small of the back. Brides wearing these dresses
likely will be more hands-on and particular with their floral
choices.
The
past is present.
(right) One overarching trend in
bridal design is the antique influence. For wedding gowns, that
means delicate fabrics such as tulle and accents such as beaded
straps and lace sleeves. You can easily infuse a vintage vibe
into bouquets with accents similar to those that give the gowns
an antique aesthetic. 
Bling
is the thing. (right)
Another way designers are adding some oomph to gowns this year
is with sparkling accents. They’re putting beading, crystals and
other touches on the waist, the entire bodice or even the whole
dress. Brides love it. You can add bling to your bridal
bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres and more with the jeweled pins,
metallic wires, metallic paints, glitter sprays and other
accents offered by floral industry suppliers.
Green
is good. (right)
Environmentally friendly isn’t a huge trend in wedding gowns,
but it’s gaining some momentum. More brides are donning
eco-friendly wedding dresses made of organic silks and cottons.
And the green movement is showing up in virtually every other
bridal category: Couples are serving free-range chicken and
buying conflict-free diamond rings. For these brides, consider
mentioning your access to flowers produced in accordance with
environmental and social responsibility standards. (To learn
more about “green labels” for flowers, see our June 2007 issue,
Page 51, or click on
Gray
is the new brown. (right)
According to editors at The Knot, steel gray is the new accent
color of choice among bridal fashion designers. The appeal is
the greater versatility of gray, which looks good with
everything from pale pink to bright aqua. This provides brides
with more freedom to play with color in their bouquets.
Hello
to yellow. (right) Various
chromas and values of yellow are all over new wedding fashions.
Designers love the freshness and energy it adds to dresses without being
overpowering. Yellow is also versatile, the top buzzword in bridal for
the past few years. Soft yellows and bright yellows go well with almost
everything. Get out your color wheel, and review all the exciting color
harmonies you can create with florals to coordinate with yellow gowns
(complementary, split complementary, analogous, monochromatic, triadic
and so on).
Sweeping
lines. (right) Flowing fabrics
were a big hit at Bridal Market Week. More gown designers are using
chiffon, tulle and other light fabrics to create the illusion of
movement in their dresses and add softness to the gowns. Designers and
brides alike enjoy the graceful ethereal effect of the flowing skirts as
brides walk down the aisle.
Layer upon layer.
Gowns with layered skirts create a textured, sophisticated look that
implies quality and craftsmanship.
Flared
skirts. (right) Many gowns this
year feature modified A-lines (slim through the waist with dramatic
structured skirts), trumpets and mermaids, and dropped waists. These
forms not only give the dresses a sense of drama but also showcase toned
brides’ bodies.
Short
skirts. (right) It was bound to
happen. Hemlines are on the rise. Many designers at Bridal Market Week
featured at least one short wedding dress in their new collections, from
dare-to-bare micro minis to longer tea lengths.
Asymmetrical
necklines. (right) This is
another example of designers adding drama and sophistication to their
gowns. Taking their cues from the Grecian look, one-shoulder dresses
were all over the runways in New York City.