There’s hardly a woman who doesn’t find the idea of selecting or designing her wedding gown as daunting as it is exciting.
Should you go for a classic silhouette or make a bold statement? Will the gown be brilliant white, ivory, frosty, pearl white or any one of the 50 shades in between? Wait a minute, how about duplicating supermodel Kate Moss’ gorgeous gown? Surely her size 4 wedding dress will look just as beautiful on your curvy, size 12 frame, right?
Selecting a wedding dress is no easy task so when Wambui Kibue of Angelsmile came out with her new collection, she had one mission in mind: Celebrating You. Her campaign featured 6 strong, beautiful and intelligent ladies who epitomize the diversity of the Angelsmile woman.
We got an exclusive interview with Kibue to learn more about her campaign, design process, most challenging aspects of creating a gown and more.
- Where did the idea of the ‘Celebrating You’ campaign spark from? As a womenswear designer who specializes in bespoke pieces, I constantly deal with women’s seemingly endless dissatisfaction with parts of their bodies. I really want to see that change. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others be it friends or celebrities as opposed to celebrating our individual beauty. Know who you are. Work hard to change what you can and even harder to accept and celebrate the parts that you can’t. Angelsmile wants to celebrate 6 brides getting married between April and December 2016 for the second phase of the campaign by giving them bespoke Angelsmile gowns.
- What inspired you to start designing bridal pieces and was this something that you always knew you’d venture into? Yes I always knew that it would be a point of focus. I love being able to bring a woman’s dream dress to life especially for such an important day. When the gown has been completed and we do the final fitting, and she’s seeing herself as a bride for the first time; the excitement and gratitude in that moment is a constant reminder that I’m blessed to be living my dream. Also as an artist, it’s one way I get to really play out my creativity. I love detailed and dramatic style lines and locally wedding gowns are a great way to do this.
- A wedding gown is a very intimate piece, something that needs to resonate with the bride and make her feel special on her big day. Where do you get your inspiration from to create your pieces? I’ve always found this kind of a hard question for me to answer or explain because the creativity is in me. It’s a part of who I am. The easiest response is that I’m inspired by the beauty I see around me in whatever form. The bride’s persona also plays a big role when designing a gown.
- Can you share one of the most challenging parts of designing a gown? Perhaps take us through your process. The most challenging thing when designing a gown is a bride with completely no idea of what direction she would like to take. Without your thoughts or ideas on how you would like to feel or what you want to look like on your special day it gets a little challenging for me to narrow it down and create a masterpiece. The first meeting is a conversation. It’s me getting to know you and listening for key words that guide my direction. Are you understated or dramatic? Are you looking for elegance or glamour? Once this is clear I start to sketch out ideas I think would be fantastic for your personality and body and together we create a masterpiece.
- What advice would you give to a bride when it comes to designing or selecting her wedding dress? Know what your style persona is. You should be completely comfortable in your Your wedding day is about looking like a “better” version of you. It’s your version of the Oscars. Resist the urge to try new and dramatic style lines especially if you are conservative.
