Bridal Couture

IAnD Exclusive 

Pre-Diwali Special

By Team IAnD

Photography: courtesy the designer

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Every girl fervently desires to be the cynosure of all eyes on her wedding day. Celebrity fashion designer and stylist, Ashley Rebello tells us how he transforms the most ordinary looking Jane into Juliet...

Ashley Rebello caters to both: the celebrity circle as well as the hoi-polloi. Often he gets the chance to design the wedding gowns of many a Catholic bride and each time; the challenge is to do something different because white is a colour that invariably makes a person look broader! Of course the person he is designing for gives him the cue, and Ashley goes about deciding on the silhouette, fabric, fall, cut and embellishments that will make the gown yet another stunning piece of art; and yet another bride absolutely, distinctly special.

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Citing a case-in-point about a rather full-bodied, size-large bride, Ashley recounts how he first concentrated on lending a desirable silhouette to her lower body, by giving her a simple gown that pinched just below the waist and then fell in an A-line cut, not too flowy yet, with a cascading effect that perfectly complemented her rather average height. Moving towards the torso, the designer opted for a bodice covered with a translucent embroidered lace shroud that draped over her shoulders and upper arms, flattering her visage and deftly fading out the heaviness of her upper arms. 

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Citing another occasion, Ashley reminisces about how he devoted a red-and-gold theme to a bride’s enthusiasm and designed for her a traditional ensemble of dresses for her Sagai, Mehendi, Sangeet and the wedding. Working with tonal variations of the colour red, he went on to articulate a mix-n-match with rich fabric adorned with heavily integrated but detailed embroidery Vs. plain classy drapes with in-the-face motifs. The combination worked well with the stunning bride sporting a thematic but distinctive look and feel for all her occasions.

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The one sound advice that Ashley gives to all young brides-to-be is “Don’t get carried away by what you see on others; or in magazines. Get comfortable with your own body first. Look at yourself in the mirror and truthfully appreciate yourself for what you are – thin, fat, plump, dark, beautiful...  Then look at correcting your blemishes or you can always depend on me to camouflage them for you”.