My TOP 5 bridal gowns from Paris 2015 HAUTE COUTURE

Just in time for the Spring-Summer 2015 bridal season, here is my top 5 wedding gowns from Paris Haute Couture shows: from established houses like Chanel and Valentino to Libanese designers “en vogue” such as Zuhair Murad, I bring you the best-dressed brides of the season!

The wedding gown is a key piece in Haute Couture to end a show and most of the designers focus their efforts on the entrance of the bride for the final look. Inspired by Heaven in Chanel’s enchanted garden, iconic “androgynes” silhouettes for Jean Paul Gaultier, I give you my pick of the most beautiful pieces from this season to inspire a soon-to-be bride:

Karl Lagerfeld created an enchanted garden of artificial and yet, lavish flower trims for his Spring/Summer 2015 couture collection. His bride is a celebration of the glorious nature: abstract flowers -the strongest element of the show-, drapes embroidered by Atelier Lesage and feathers convey a sense of ideal feminity.

For Gaultier this season, the bride was “double, almost bi-polar”, at once introverted and exuberant, classic and unconventional, tomboy and glamourous. His shows was all the more relevant as there was a whole celebration of Marriage. The theme “To Bi or Not to Bi” loomed large throughout the show, unveiling the feminine-masculine principle so dear to Gaultier. This particular wedding gown is a sleeveless tuxedo and tulle gown sewn together into one original piece, with its a short veil attached by ropes, giving the silhouette both strength and vitality.

Prévert once said: “Comme un homme tranquille au milieu de la nuit/Cet amour qui faisait peur aux autres/Qui les faisait parler (…)Cet amour tout entier/Si vivant encore/Et tout ensoleillé/C’est le tien/C’est le mien”: this is definitely the leading emotion that you felt when seeing the Valentino Couture collection.

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli celebrated romanticism at its highest point. Pieces of poetry taken from the greatest European writers such as Dante, Prévert and Virgile were embroidered on the tulles of romantic dresses to embody love in its highest and most passionate form, and to serve as a theme for the ornaments that are so central to the designers’ aesthetics: guipure appliqués, needlepoint embroideries of silver lamé and sheer tulle gowns lavishly embellished with sequins.

Elie Saab dedicated his collection to paying tribute to his native Beirout, where he nurtured his admiration for the iconic sequin embellished dresses and princess cuts he has now developed as his signature look. The bridal look on the runway was a picture of fine dentelle -petal-like- appliqué and sheer polka dots that brought the spirit of the 70s back into fashion. It wouldn’t be right not to acknowledge the admirable earnesty Saab shows in each of his collection, remaining faithful to his style, the sheer and delicate silhouettes which are at the roots of his aesthetic.

Finely known for his glamourous-cut dresses made of the most refined fabrics,Zuhair Murad heralds the new trend for the bridal season as the one of elegance and bold feminity. Crystal-encrusted embroideries on a tulle base, long sleeves of dentelle hanging down the mermaid-like silhouette, convey the idea of delicate waterfalls. In keeping with that water spirit, the bridal gown is built with a boat neck. This cutline proves to be a powerful statement this season and could be a tempting alternative for the woman who doesn’t want to wear the usual plunging necklines of the designer.