If you check out Christian Siriano's Instagram, you'll often scroll past pictures of happy brides dressed in one-of-a-kind creations. Despite the popularity of Siriano's looks among those celebrating their nuptials, the designer never officially had wedding gowns as a category of his namesake label — until now. Siriano has partnered with New York's Kleinfeld Bridal (of Say Yes to the Dress fame) for his official debut in the bridal space.
Custom designs (and, specifically, custom bridal) has been a part of Christian Siriano's brand since "day one," the designer tells Refinery29. "It was always something that customers just came to us and asked for." The first bridal dress he ever designed was a strapless chiffon number with a lace appliqué bodice and cascading fabric down the back: "I think it was for a friend I went to college with, and she was getting married at the Bellagio in Vegas!" You may remember blogger Nicolette Mason's dreamy wedding gown, another Siriano original. "[Bridal] wasn't a big part of the business until now, but it can be much more profitable than ready-to-wear," he explains.
The 27-piece line arrived at Kleinfeld's flagship store in NYC today, with gowns starting at $3,500. The collection is offered in a full range of sizes, including petite and plus — something that was important to Siriano. "Every bride should feel special, and fashion shouldn't really be closed to anyone who loves it and wants to buy it," he says. "Why would I not want a new customer that's willing to spend her hard-earned money on a piece she will love forever?" Siriano is known for thinking outside of the sample-sized convention with his work, dressing celebrities of all body types for the red carpet and teaming up with Lane Bryant for an upcoming collab.
There's a sense of freshness lacking in the bridal space, according to Siriano: "It's not every year that new designers and brands are jumping into bridal," he says. "It's still a very hard market to overcome." He says the landscape has been dominated by classic bridal brands for a long time — but that's changing, with new designers breaking into the category and more accurately reflecting the modern bride, who is "trying new things and [is] not as traditional as before."
One particular stand-out from his first bridal show was the final look: a voluminous, airy ball gown with a poufy, pink-ombré skirt. It's the most expensive gown in the collection (expected to retail for $19,000, per Yahoo), and also the only one with color. Inspired by a Degas painting, Siriano felt he "needed some color to give the collection a little jolt at the end." He landed on ombré pink as the best hue — definitely a far cry (but a welcomed departure) from the traditional bridal lineup of endless shades of ivory, cream, and Champagne.
You can expect new Christian Siriano for Kleinfeld styles to roll out a few times a year. We forsee risk-taking brides (hello, bright-pink wedding gown) as well as the only slightly edgy to say "yes" to this launch.