Britta’s ‘Celestial Desert’

Based between LA & NYC, Britta had a vision of a celestial inspired desert for her gown. The ceremony would take place in Mexico on the beach & the concept was to have a transformational look to take Britta from a barefoot ceremony on the sand, to the dance floor. Britta had always imagined her wedding gown to have asymmetrical tiers & full volume with a square neckline.

Artwork, Colour & Embroidery Inspiration

A selection of inspiration imagery from Hermione’s moodboard of desert fauna & flora, is the starting point for the artwork of Britta’s gown.

Design Proposal

Original watercolours bring Britta’s dream gown to life, painted by hand in-house at the Hermione de Paula atelier.

Patterns,Toiles & Draping

Britta’s sketches evolve into bespoke patterns and toiles, created by Hermione de Paula’s specialist team in London. Every stage is hand made and uniquely thought through for each Couture bride. Being based between NYC & LA, toiles were fit on a local model in London, before being flown to the USA. Fittings with Britta were facilitated over ZOOM with a local, trusted seamstress.

ARTWORK

Signature desert cacti & succulents are set against a starry sky, punctuated with zodiac signs & details personal to Britta & her fiancé.  The imagery below shows how these elements are engineered into her unique gown patterns.

NYC TOILE FITTING, Embroidery & Artwork Review

Hermione flew to NYC to meet Britta and fit her in her gown. All elements of the dress are finalised in person over champagne.  Artwork & personal message placements are determined and finalised, along with confirming all embroidery colours and techniques.

FINAL ARTWORK & EMBROIDERY LOOM WIP

Britta’s artwork is hand drawn into every panel of the gown, first onto paper and then onto hand embroidered panels before being cut & constructed into the finished gown.

The below series of images shows this process, with artworks drawn onto special tracing paper, punched through with a free hand machine to leave an outline of the design, before being embroidered on the loom.

FINAL EMBROIDERY Panels

Over 11 coloured threads and 20 colours of beads are individually hand dyed to make up the ombré of Britta’s gown. Pictured below is an array of exquisite hand embroidered panels, ready to be sewn into her gown.

Cutting, Stitching, Draping

A couture work-in-progress, the dress comes together in the Hermione de Paula atelier.

FINAL GOWN ON MANNEQUIN

Often with International brides, we will present the final gown on a mannequin, virtually. This allows the client to review the garment for any final modifications or finishing touches in advance of sending their finished gown to them.

FINAL GOWN ON MANNEQUIN – The Party Mini transformation

Britta’s gown married two dresses in one. In these photos, the underskirt is removed, transforming the dress into a mini party look.

Personal Messages & Details

Britta’s dress was adorned with hidden meaning from the date they met & married, to the initials of her & her partner, along with a coyote & ladybird to represent family members.

FINAL Fitting in NYC

Hermione flew to New York to oversee Britta’s final fitting.

The Big Day

We were thrilled to see these beautiful, happy images of Britta’s Mexican fiesta wedding on the beach after designing and dreaming of it for many months together.  Film photography @Jillian Mitchell

The Big Night

Britta’s underskirts were removable to transform her full volume gown into a flirty party mini for her reception.  Film photography @Jillian Mitchell