The journey of a dress… from Brussels to Marrakesh

When you’re a designer and your best friend is getting married there are some unwritten/unsaid rules that each of you must respect. For example, it would be a crime for her to look in other places than you for her dress… And it would be an even bigger crime for you to refuse.

Luckily this wasn’t an issue for Geraldine an me. As soon as she got engaged I knew I had to start sketching… Which I didn’t do at all to be honest. I preferred to take inspiration from a lot of sources such as pictures, wedding boutiques, fittings, fabrics and more importantly from her, than to sketch, as sometimes I feel as it can put a strain on your imagination…

Wedding dress: by me Valentine Avoh – Blue dress: Velour(from Reservoir Shop Brussels) Shoes: Schuh

After a few tea and brainstorming sessions between Geraldine, her mum and me, we all agreed on lace. So we went to Paris in search of the perfect lace and we found the one… A creme white hand beaded Calais Lace (dentelle de Calais). Note that a piece like this takes around 2 months of work..!

Followed a series of fittings with the toile (the test fabric) and then in the finished material. Fittings are essential to get the shape and measurements right and in this case it was even more important as my friend lives in Morocco, so we had to make the most of the time we had when she was here in Brussels.

This dress was a bit of a challenge for me as it was the first time I was making a lace dress. Also you don’t feel the same when you cut into a random fabric from the shop across the street and when you cut into one that has been hand made especially since you won’t be able to order it again if you screw up…! Anyway, thanks to the amazing women I met during my time at McQueen and Samantha Shaw I learned a lot about lace and how to manipulate it…

In the end we were both really happy with the result. Here are some pictures from the wedding which took place in Marrakesh in a beautiful garden… but still not as beautiful as the bride… 😉

Merci pour le compte de fée!

Tous mes voeux de bonheur ma G 😉

“Tam tam ta daaam” xxx