Style & Then Some interviews Jasper Garvida|Bloomsbury Wedding Open Day

Our contributor Katy Spry should now be a familiar name – she swapped blogging for fashion interrogation when she met LFW stalwart Jasper Garvida.

They say you learn something new everyday but during my week reporting for Style & Then Some it was more a case of being schooled in style at every single event and the Bloomsbury Wedding Open Day was no different.

For starters I now know that not only is the Bloomsbury Hotel near Covent Garden, London a beautiful place to stay, it’s also a very popular wedding venue (see BlondeKatie’s full report on that). I also learned that high end fashion designer Jasper Garvida has immersed himself in all things white and innocent for his new Bridal range. We had the pleasure of meeting the man himself at the event and having a chat about his bespoke bridal service.

“I’m more of a perfectionist than the brides!” he jested. Garvida’s genuine passion for finding a lady her perfect gown became apparent straightaway: “If they’re happy, I’m happy, that’s the main thing!”

Born in the Philippines, Garvida’s family later moved to Canada when he was very young and it was there he discovered and was able to salvage his own mother’s wedding dress from the sixties. Despite getting damaged along the way he was able to repair the gown, which had great sentimental value to his parents – no doubt the early catalyst and inspiration for him going on to create a wedding dress collection.

Other influences of his are fifties lingerie and the more quirky wedding attire from days gone by. Top of his list, Bianca Jagger’s famous Yves Saint Laurent suit she wore to marry Rolling Stones frontman Mick back in the seventies – which incidentally, Garvida has updated in a new design.

Garvida’s aim is to make your “fantasy dress into a reality.” He achieves this by creating an interview type scenario where he meets with the future bride in a bid to dig deep and get to the bottom of what exactly it is that she wants. It could be seen as an interrogation almost – the designer wants to know when the big day is, the location, month, time of day and where; he is that thorough.

The information gathered will allow him to provide his customer with 6-10 sketches of possible dress ideas. If that sounds full on, don’t fret as Jasper’s warm demeanour is enough to put any bride at ease – so much so that I found myself tempted to divulge the type of dress I’d like and hear his recommendations despite not having a ring on my finger, or even a man for that matter.

To find out more about the Jasper Gavida bespoke bridal service visit his website.

                                              Model: Maria Tokmakova, Photography: Pandora’s Thoughts, Makeup & Hair: Monica Mao

Ten things I learned at the royal wedding dress exhibition

The Royal Collection ©2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

 

1. Six different types of lace can be seen on the dress.
2. Four of the lace motifs were chosen to represent the nations of the United Kingdom– rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.
3. The lace was appliquéd onto the satin gazar fabric by the Royal School of Needlework, an embroidery school that dates back to 1872.
4. The sewing needles had to be renewed every three hours to ensure they remained sharp enough.
5. The overall design of the dress was intended, according to designer Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, to ‘look to the past but look forward as well,’ so the bustle echoed a traditional Victorian shape but the corsetry was typical of the house of Alexander McQueen.
6. The skirt pattern was shaped like an unfolding flower.
7. Heavy canvas was strategically placed on the ‘petals’ of the skirt to make sure it retained its shape when Catherine walked up the aisle.
8. The earrings that the Middleton family had commissioned as a gift for their daughter feature a diamond in the shape of an acorn, as seen on the family’s coat of arms.
9. The Royal wedding cake featured 900 flowers and leaves made out of icing.
10. Because they didn’t eat the royal wedding cake itself (it’s on show at the exhibition now) the Duke of Cambridge had a chocolate biscuit cake commissioned by McVities, presumably to keep reception guests happy.

The Royal Wedding Dress: A story of Great British Design is open until 3^rd October 2011 at the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. Visit the Royal Collection website for more details and to book tickets.

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