Cape Town Wedding Dress Designer: Ilan
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Romantic expression is materialised in designer Stephan Martin’s, fabulous clothing label, Ilan, meaning “grove of trees”. Adding his personal touch to each of his creations and creating wedding gowns upon request, Ilan is no ordinary design company.
As showcased as one of our fave Cape Town Wedding Dress Designers {2013 Collections} feature, Ilan stands out by creating wedding dresses unlike any other. Take a peek at a few of their very many happy brides dressed in Ilan creations!
Ilan’s Signature Style
Stephan describes his design aesthetic as “classic and feminine dreamy looks with bridal gowns that have a strong supporting structure to give the bride added confidence and make her look her best”. Striving to create garments that complement and sculpt the female form, his designs are ideally suited for those brides that are searching for something unusual, yet classic.
Stephan is immensely involved in entire process, from conceptualisation to creation, even doing the beading by hand and personally completing a design to ensure that it meets his requirements.
This Season’s Wedding Dress Trends
What Are This Season’s Wedding Dress Trends?
Although Stephan prefers timeless over trendy, here are a few of his favourite trends that brides should take heed of:
- Something that you can pass down as an heirloom or rework to create something that reminds you of that day, like a mosquito net out of the veil for instance.
- Colour – “Today’s brides are more open to experiment with colour as I have dyed a wedding dress grey and hand painted the veil with magnolias for one of my brides, ” says Stephan.
- Natural fabrics – Fabrics used for wedding gowns should always be natural fabrics without synthetics, explains Stephan. Although it will cost a little more, when you wear your dress on the day, Stephan assures that you will feel comfortable and look elegant in your photos.
Selecting The Perfect Wedding Gown
What advice do you have for the bride trying to choose the perfect wedding gown?
- Create a mood board of the dresses you like to show your designer – For the bride-to-be, Stephan suggests, “creating a mood board of the dresses that you would like and to take it to a qualified designer that can sit with you to design the perfect dress that suits your needs and speaks to your individuality”.
- Make sure that your dress fits perfectly – The most important thing is to ensure that wherever you have your dress made that the fit is perfect, especially if you are hiring a dress and it needs to be adjusted.
- Stop losing weight 4 weeks before the wedding – This is essential, says Stephan, as your dress needs to fit perfectly, especially the bodice!
Bridal Accessories To Complete Your Look
Are there any bridal accessory trends that are popular at the moment?
Ilan designer, Stephan, shares a few of the latest bridal accessory trends for 2013:
- Beaded headpieces are a very popular trend at the moment, says Stephan.
- Something blue sewn into the wedding dress or on the garter.
Ilan‘s wedding dress designs range between ZAR8,000 – ZAR30,000 depending on each bride’s special requirements. Get in touch with Ilan designer, Stephan, by ringing +27(0)71 605 1978, visiting his website www.ilanilan.co.za or send an email directly to [email protected].