Your Wedding Day - Inspirational words from Claire Pettibone

Inspirational words from Claire Pettibone

BY Arikka Hall

Something old, something new, something edgy, something you. Claire Pettibone drew inspiration from rock music, tattoos and the 1970s in her 2009 spring collection titled Rock n’ Roll bride.

With Lenny Kravitz and Rolling Stone remixes playing in the background, Claire created gowns that offer a bold twist on traditional bridal fashion. There wasn’t a specific song that sparked Claire’s imagination but rather the spirit of an English rocker inspired her. The story behind the collection,
Claire said, is the cool girl who marries a band member and everybody is dancing and having a fabulous time.

“I was kind of thinking if Kate Moss married Mick Jagger,” Claire explained with a laugh. The union of the fashion “It” girl and the legendary rock star exemplifies the cool vibe Claire envisions for her newest collection.

The body-art of her customers intrigued Claire and served as another inspiration. Claire incorporated the concept of the tattoo into her dresses by using embroidery reminiscent of dark ink on skin. “I started thinking about the tattoo,” Claire said, “I like that contrast of the really feminine dress with the girl who maybe has just a slight edge to her.”

The joy and lightness of the 1970s also moved Claire in this bridal collection. She worked in elements from the decade of peace, love and happiness to give a sense of fun and free spiritedness. Her gowns conveyed the “hippy hopefulness” found in the promise of love.

The Rock n’ Roll collection offered sexy silhouettes and including shorter lengths. Claire broke away from tradition by adding hints of dark color like violet and platinum. Metal embellishments such as nail heads and rhinestones contrast with delicate lace and sweet flowers, giving the gowns a sense of mystery.

For the dress Claire calls “Midnight”, she combined amethyst-stone detailing along the straps with a train of black tulle stemming from a black rose to add a touch of gothic flair.

Although Claire felt this collection was more daring than her previous work, the 1970s influence brought a sweetness that tied the Rock n’ Roll collection in with the vintage-inspired, romantic sensibility of past collections. She used her signature mix of ethereal, vintage and modern elements to create timeless gowns meant to take your breath away.

Her gown named “Luna” is more delicate and feminine. It features a beautiful draped back of romantic white lace and a long, flowing silhouette. “The mix is what I love,” Claire said of her designs. But, “even though it’s vintage inspired, I never want the collection to look costume-y.”

Her goal was to create a romantic and unique look that appealed to a variety of women. Claire considered three archetypes when designing: the woman who is sweet, soft and romantic; a hippy, free spirit bride and a girl who is sophisticated yet sexy.

She recognized the individuality of each bride and created gowns that bring out the unique personalities of different women. “But what they all have in common is their independent spirit or a self confidence and a self awareness; they love who they are and they want to express that through their dress.”

Claire’s creative vision may end with the story the bride wants to tell on her wedding day, but it began with fabric design. Collaborating with couture European fabric companies, Claire was involved in the creation with the dress materials right from the start. Her background as a lingerie designer lent her an expertise in delicate fabrics like lace; she found pleasure in styling the perfect fabric for her gowns.

“One of the most enjoyable parts about the creative process, for me, is designing the fabrics,” Claire said, “the fabric kind of tells me what to do with it.” Sometimes she had a dress in mind and she created a fabric to complete her vision. Other times, the material inspired the dress. Claire first began designing wedding gowns when a close friend asked her to style a dress.

At first, Claire considered reworking a nightgown from her lingerie collection to make it suitable for wedding attire, but changed her mind. “Let’s go there. Let’s really do a wedding gown,” Claire decided and her bridal collections slowly developed from there.

She did not, however, design her own wedding dress. At the time of her own wedding, Claire was busy getting her lingerie design business off the ground and felt that creating her dress would be taking on too much. Instead she bought an off white, antique lace dress that had a vintage feel to it off the rack. “It was ok,” she said with a sigh.

Looking back, she wished she had styled her own dress. “I feel like doing the bridal gowns now. It’s like I get to live vicariously through my brides and design all these dresses that I would have loved to have worn,” she said, laughing.

Claire cited her parents, who are both fine artists, as her mentors. From an early age, Claire’s parents instilled a love of design, “they really taught me to express my creativity.” Growing up around the talented art of her parents, Claire felt influenced and encouraged to pursue a creative career.

After studying design, Claire met her future husband and the two of them went into business together, providing Claire with an outlet for her designs. With a successful, multi-faceted design business under her belt, what sort of advice did the designer have for brides-to-be?

“You need a little something in the hair,” Claire said. Her favorite accessory is the veil. Claire has often witnessed an otherwise composed bride become teary and faint once she tries on a veil. “The veil just adds a magical quality,” Claire said. For brides who are on the fence regarding a veil, she said go for it. “This is the only time in life when you would ever wear a veil. There might be other occasions when you would wear a gorgeous dress but there is no other occasion when you’re going to wear a veil.”

But, she advised, “keep it simple with the jewelry”; go with a necklace or an earring, not usually both, add a beautiful shoe and a stunning bouquet and you’re “good to go,” Claire offered.

When shopping for dresses, Claire suggested bringing just one or two people with you. Too many voices can “confuse a bride to the point where she can’t make a decision.”

Claire invited women to do some homework before dress shopping. It’s easy for the staff to help if you have inspirations and ideas for your big day. But, enter the process with an open mind.

“Be open to trying things on that you might not have necessarily thought would be right for you,” because sometimes a woman falls in love with a style that she had never considered.

“Every woman has a story to tell when she gets married,” Claire said. She loves providing brides with options for the key part: the wedding gown. “I feel it’s really the most important gown a woman wears in her life. I don’t think there’s really a dress that has more meaning or more significance.”

Whether a bride is looking for something soft and flowing to wear for her garden wedding or feels like a dress with a bit of an edge and maybe a hint of color would better suit her style, Claire has her covered. But even as she plays with color, cut and texture in the dresses, Claire kept the sweetness of marriage in mind.

“The wedding gown is the ultimate expression of romance,” Claire said. A Claire Pettibone bride wants to wear romance in an individual way. She seeks beauty but in a way that is less traditional. She wants to look more herself than old, new, borrowed and blue.

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