Designers give importers a run for their money with classy bridal gowns

New bridal collections majestically stand on a section of the room. The diversity is impressive and would readily match many tastes.

“That dress took one month to make,” says Wambui Mukenyi, a fashion designer, pointing at the screen of looping images. The dress she is talking about is a wedding gown; strap-less, a mermaid cut, with a tail made with embellished lace. Although she had done a bridal collection before, this was the first that included wedding gowns.

“This bridal collection has 25 looks and that includes the five wedding gowns. We have done one bridal collection, but only of brides-maids dresses. For this collection, we went out of our comfort zone to do the wedding gowns as well,” says Ms Mukenyi.

Perfectly timed with the start of Kenya’s wedding season, August to December, she and other designers are looking to cash in on the rising demand from brides looking for unique gowns.

The wedding industry has grown over the years with local fashion designers showcasing more and more bridesmaids’ dresses, but the Kenyan bride had remained an elusive customer. She has always preferred buying a ready-made gown from a shop or ordering from Europe and more recently from Dubai or China.

However, to keep up with the current trends of having a unique dress and having control of the design and choice of fabric, brides are now heading to the local designers.

“The Kenyan bride usually looks around in the market and finds what is available is not to her taste. She is looking for something unique and the local designers can give her something different from Dubai and China as the designs are similar,” says Galina Tatarinova of Only You.

Only You is known for its detailed and lavish, ruffled gowns, mostly in chiffon and organza.

While in the past designers’ workshops during the wedding seasons was all about bright-coloured fabrics for the bridesmaids’ dress, now they have to accommodate the white, off-white, cream and beige chiffon, organza, silk and taffeta common with wedding gowns.

Brides also prefer dresses with lace either plain or embellished. As for the bridesmaids, they prefer more of the Grecian look as Ms Mukenyi points out from her interactions with her clients.

Although with the bridesmaids’ dresses the designs are versatile, the wedding gown silhouette remains the same; mostly cinderella and mermaid. It is the fabrics and the inspiration that changes.

“Most brides come with their own ideas and then we work around that to give them one of a kind dress for her big day. However, the cut still remains the same, Cinderella and mermaid,” says Galina.

Ms Mukenyi has had to train her tailors to do the new designs. Embellishing the lace is not hard, she says, one has to be keen while doing it.

“There is an increasing number of people who are looking to local designers to create their gowns. They have started to appreciate the importance of getting what might be the most important dress they will ever wear, custom made for their body,” says Wambui Kibue of Anglesmile.

More often than not, buying a ready-made gown from the shop means that it has to be adjusted, and most designers are no longer adjusting dresses.

However, Kache by Angie is making sure brides get a fitting dress. Her Yaya Centre shop in Nairobi accommodates a high-end bridal brand from Barcelona, Spain; Pronovias.
The shop takes the measurements of the brides and the gown is made in Barcelona.

This comes at a higher cost compared to walking into a shop and buying a dress. But despite the high price, Ms Kibue says that brides are willing to pay more to get their gowns custom-made.

“Brides are starting to appreciate that you do not have to import a gown and then it does not fit well. We will make the gown to their measurements. With most brides, we usually tell them to come with their budget. We know what kind of fabric and design we will be looking at,” says Ms Mukenyi.

Having show-cased at the June Samatha Bridal Expo, Ms Mukenyi has bookings until mid-August.

[email protected]