Galvan, Prabal Gurung, Alejandra Alonso Rojas

I never dreamed about my wedding or made a scrap book about what it would look like and who would attend. Getting married was never on my list of even the “top 10 things I wanted to accomplish in life before death pulls up.” Growing up without either of my parents and therefore in a non-traditional household, marriage seemed like something reserved for particular folk not like me. That is until now!

Suddenly (maybe age?), for some reason, not only am I dreaming up an outdoor wedding day at a dreamy and far away location with only invitees who love and support the union, and dreaming of not only the best partner waiting for me at the end of the aisle where my dad will be walking me down, but also dreaming about THE dress that will be said “YES!” to.

I wish I could tell you where this burst of inspiration for sudden civil union came from but I won’t. What I will do though is round up 66 Modern Wedding Looks from the Summer/Spring 2020 Fashion Week in NYC, London, Milan, and Paris along with a small history of the white wedding gown for the big day.

GmbH

A.W.A.K.E. MODE 3

Dion Lee

Laquan Smith

Richard Quinn

For the traditional, Catholic, and Western folk, wearing a white dress to a wedding symbolizes purity, virginity, and virtue but that wasn't always the case.

The white wedding dress tradition began in 1840 when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in a white dress not because she was pure or a virgin but because she simply liked white. White dresses for weddings were actually very rare not only because of how expensive it was to maintain and keep clean but also because they were very tied in with the wealthy class which ultimately made wearing white to your wedding very lux.

Givenchy

Brock Collection

Brandon Maxwell

Galvan

Taoray Wang

Cong Tri

FILA

Julien Macdonald

In Victorian times, brides wore blue which wasn’t so hard to keep clean but also represented purity because it symbolized the Virgin Mary. Poor brides wore their best dress to their wedding which would sometimes be gingham or even patterned flowers. The Celts wore red to their wedding because it symbolized fertility and black if they were marrying a widower or if their past partner had died. And so on.

Prabal Gurung

Gabriela Hearst

Herve Leger

Burberry

MM6 Maison Margiela

Alejandra Alonso Rojas

Zimmerman

Khaite

Serre

Louis Vuitton

The Row

Miu Miu

Emilia Wickstead

Vivetta

Shaina Mote

David Koma

Marchesa

Osman

MM6 Maison Margiela

Here is a rhyme from the 1800s published in the Farmers’ Alamac after Queen Victoria wore white satin to marry Prince Albert and the white wedding dress tradition began: Married in White, you have chosen right Married in Grey, you will go far away, Married in Black, you will wish yourself back, Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead, Married in Green, ashamed to be seen, Married in Blue, you will always be true, Married in Pearl, you will live in a whirl, Married in Yellow, ashamed of your fellow, Married in Brown, you will live in the town, Married in Pink, your spirit will sink.