Here is my some of my proposed copy for my double page spread for my magazine article. I will be asking my target audience and focus group for feedback about this in the next few days and make any necessary changes.
Be sure not to miss The Wedding Dress, on Channel 4 on Wednesday at 9pm. In this one off documentary, we explore the wild world of wedding dresses - the variety of options available for modern day brides. In the program, we see the contrast between the traditional white dresses compared to some of the more adventurous, coloured and unique gowns which are growing in popularity.
Lucy Spragg, owner of Lucy Can’t Dance specialises in unique non traditional wedding dresses incorporating a use of colour and dip dye into her designs. Lucy hand makes all her dresses in her shop in Chelmsford Essex, with just the help of one assistant. For some dresses, she has to hand sew detailing such as flowers on - in one design she had a sew a whooping 800 flowers on the bodice before the piece was finished. Before owning her studio, Lucy was hand sewing from her bedroom. She never planned to get into fashion design - especially wedding dress design; she originally planned to to go into interior design before realising her talent.
Her catch phrase of her business is ‘you don’t have to white anymore’ which reflects her designs - she enjoys using colours such as orange, blue, red and grey dip dyes to create different effects on her dresses making them all very different and unusual. However, Lucy said sometime her designs get a little backlash. ‘Sometimes mothers of the brides get a bit funny about my designs, upset with their daughters about not choosing traditional white gowns. That does upset me a little with their comments, saying how I’m breaking the traditional of white dresses. But in hindsight its not about the mothers and all my customers have been extremely happy with their gowns.’
Designer Clorese Thompson, owner of Chantilly Lace bridal wear in Leigh on Sea, Essex talks about her variety of dresses and her love of her shop.
“It is an absolute honour to be part of the process of choosing a girls dress with her, and helping her with the things she doesn’t like to the things she does like and then eventually get into that special dress” says Clorese, when asked about the highlights of the job.
She speaks about the impact the royal wedding has had on the trends of wedding dresses - emphasising that ‘lace always prevails’ and has massively grown in popularity since Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011.
The royal wedding has always had a strong influence on fashion trends - especially members such as Diana who ‘captivated the world’s attention not only as a princess and patron of charities but also as one of the globe’s most celebrated style icons’. Princess Diana married Prince Charles on the 29th July 1981 and was noted be ‘the wedding of the century’.
David Emanuel was the designer of Princess Diana’s dress. Her dress was said to be quite a dramatic style to create an impression and make sure it went down in history. It was an ‘ivory silk taffeta ad antique lace gown with a 25 foot train which was valued at £9000 in 1981’.
Wedding dresses have always been an expensive part of a brides wedding day with some brides spending thousands on their dream dress. However, some companies such as MissGuided and French Connection have released bridal lines with dresses as low as £35 and including shoes, dressing gowns, underwear and more. This gives an alternative for the brides not as interested in spending thousands on a dress only being worn for one day.
These sites even give the option for free next day delivery, just in case there is a spur of the moment marriage. These dresses have received mixed reviews with some stating they are ‘great for the price!’ and ‘absolute lifesaver for a last minute dress!’. But there was some opposing reviews with complaints about the fit of the dresses, the quality of the material and the colour of the gowns .
The documentary also explores the impact of the internet and social media on the wedding dress industry. Instagram, Pinterest and other social media sites have inspired many brides to be with different potential designs. Social media also acts as a platform for digital marketing - businesses such as Lucy’s can now reach a wider audience therefore promoting the brand and potentially increasing sales.
This would be some of my copy however I need to add to it as I am expecting to use around 3 coloums for the text. I have been inspired by other magazine articles for shows and this has reflected the style which I have chose to write my information in.
