Singaporebrides | Editors' Notes

April 2015

Designer Feature: THEIA Spring 2016 Bridal

By Tansey Tang

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We start our New York Bridal Fashion Week with the launch of THEIA’s Spring 2016 Bridal collection, and it does not disappoint. Full of whimsically flowing silhouettes andintricate details, the wedding gown collectionbeguiles us into an enchanting tale of romance.

The room was filled with editors and photographers from all over the world. Rows of dainty silver chairs lined the whimsical green runway. Illuminated by the glow of the spotlights, the backdrop of trailing vines and delicate white blossoms framed the name of the first bridal couture designer we had flown halfway across the world to see. It was the THEIA Spring 2016 show, and I was more than a little excited.

Besides it being the first bridal runway show of our New York Bridal Market visit, THEIA is one of my favourite design houses. Beautiful, imaginative, and always a little surprising, THEIA’s designs are simply rather joyous. For Spring 2016, designer Don O’Neill once again creates a collection that tells a beautiful story and invites brides along an imaginative journey. The bridal collection is inspired by the hauntingly whimsical illustrations of Danish artist Kay Nielsen, who illustrated such classics as the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson.

The delicate lines and whimsy of his art is captured in the caprice and lighthearted emotion of THEIA’s new Spring collection. With fluttering Chantilly lace as light as butterflies’ wings, shimmering embroideries that look as if spun by spiders, and silks illustrated with Nielsen’s paintings, the gowns beckon for brides to skip along like enchanted princesses through the imaginary woods of a fairy tale. Lace is delicately re-embroidered with sparkling pearls and silvery threads, looking just like fresh dew humming on spider’s silk. Cuts are airy and ethereal, with lots of movement and lightness in the flowing skirts and fluttering sleeves. Besides the pretty gowns, there’s also an element of the unexpected in the collection, with unusual fabrics like burnout satin, and unconventional silhouettes such as the trouser suit and shirt dress.

Devon features a magical re-embroidered lace cape that trails lightly over a crepe sheath gown. With its high lace collar and dramatic length, the lace cape is a whimsical and fashionable coverup. Giselle is a sleek fit-and-flare gown with a gorgeously chic halter neckline, that turns to reveal a surprise illusion back with a silvery, hand-embroidered scene from a fairytale. Brushed with the colours of meadow strewn with flowers, Fae features a chic ribbon-tie detail in the low back. Aurora is delicately adorned with butterflies on its sweet crop top, and made glamorous with a silk organza ball skirt that has see-through pockets.

For the unconventional bride, Ellen is a sleek pearl white trouser suit fit for a modern White Queen. Erytheia features a moonlit silk organza shirt dress over a hand-embroidered bra, paired with silver silk pants. Light as a butterfly’s wing, Kay is a fluttering silk organza gown printed with Neilsen’s illustrations. And for the collection’s finale, Anya was a stunning gown with a 3D-printed corset of intricate flowers and butterflies that sculpted a peplum over a silk satin face georgette ball skirt.

The runway show closed to applause and all of us gradually drifted back from the magical world dancing with enchanted princesses. As the lights dimmed, I sighed with the satisfaction of a child who has just been told a lovely fairytale, as THEIA Spring 2016 Bridal collection’s certainly was.

Credits: Images courtesy of THEIA.

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