Photo: BRIDES
This afternoon in New York City, Peter Copping debuted his first bridal collection for Oscar de la Renta, a momentous occasion for the label, and for the designer. From a white taffeta ball gown with floral lace bodice to a white silk faille cocktail dress with a sculptural skirt dotted with organza floral embroidery (seen below), Copping's first bridal collection, featuring 23 wedding dresses and three flower girls' dresses, was both directional yet entirely timeless. Copping also sent an ivory version of Sienna Miller's Oscars dress from the Fall/Winter 2015 ready-to-wear collection (seen below) down the runway. The Chantilly lace gown with crystal and sequin embroidery is sure to be a smash hit, and perfectly reflective of Copping's direction for the house.
Following his bridal debut, we spoke to the designer about following in Oscar's footsteps, the beauty of designing in white, and the iconic women who inspire his work.
Photos: Gerardo Somoza - Alessandro Garofalo / Indigitalimages.com
Copping shares Oscar's bridal aesthetic, while creating a collection that reflects his unique eye and design sensibility.
"Oscar and I were very much on the same wavelength. I wanted to give a lot of attention to the details of the bodices, and I didn't want to rely on very simple strapless shapes. There was draping and darting and some new shapes; others that had the feeling of a corset, where the boning was revealed and paired with guipure lace layered over the top to create an interesting texture. I wanted the collection to feel very contemporary as well," Copping exclusively told BRIDES. He added that he did not look to bridal trends. "I really just did what I felt would be quite natural, and I have designed a number of bridal dresses in the past for both friends and clients," referring to his previous tenure as creative director of Nina Ricci.
Copping began designing this collection by focusing on a range of different brides.
"Unfortunately, bridal is something that Oscar and I didn't have the chance to talk about, but it's something that's always been very important for the house — Oscar de la Renta has a really strong bridal heritage," Copping explained. He added that he drew inspiration from different kinds of brides marrying in different locations around the world. "Something that I really wanted to achieve was to offer a good, broad spectrum of different dresses, ranging from pieces that could be worn on a beach, to other ones that were simpler with a more thirties-like silhouette, and then lots of laces and different mixes of fabrics."
Photos: Gerardo Somoza - Alessandro Garofalo / Indigitalimages.com
The designer also revealed his favorite thing about designing for brides.
"Something I did quite enjoy was not really having to deal with color, but focusing on white and ivory," he said, noting that with a lack of color on the runway, "you can focus on the texture, and the way things are made." Asked about the differences between designing a ready-to-wear collection, and designing wedding dresses, Copping revealed his unique concerns: "There definitely are differences in terms of construction, and then there's a lot to consider for different religions as well. People in other parts of the world have certain constraints, so that's something I did take into consideration with this bridal collection."
From The Duchess of Windsor to Marie Antoinette, Copping is inspired by iconic women.
We asked Copping if he could put any woman in a dress from the bridal collection, and he smiled and explained, "It's quite funny because I was thinking of different women for some of the '30s silhouettes, and I was thinking back to the Duchess of Windsor, and what she wore for her wedding. The headdresses on the runway were very much inspired by her." Further showing his refined sensibility, he smiled, "For this collection, I'd probably go for a historical woman, like Marie Antoinette."
View Copping's Spring 2016 Oscar de la Renta bridal collection in full here!
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