Brides-to-be who prefer something classic and timeless can rest assured that traditional white gowns aren’t going anywhere — but for the trendy, experimental, and nontraditional ladies walking down the aisle, there are more options than ever before.
And according to the fashion search platform Lyst, more and more brides are taking advantage of the diverse wedding fashion choices at their fingertips, with plenty of non-white-dress looks become increasingly popular.
This week, the shopping site released its 2018 Wedding Fashion Report, breaking down some of the fastest-growing trends in bridalwear from the past year.
Here comes the bride! Fashion search platform Lyst has released a report on bridal shopping trends from the past year — including rose-colored-gowns (BHLDN, $1,850, bhldn.com)
Surprise! Red and yellow dresses have also seen new interest (left: Jenny Packham, right: ASOS, $119, asos.com)
Hardly blushing: Most surprising off all, more brides are interested in black wedding dresses — perhaps inspired by the ones Reem Acra sent down the runway
Back to basics: Nude dresses were more searched for in the past year, too (left: Willowby, $1,395, nordstrom.com; right: Needle & Thread, $1,829, needleandthread.com)
Changing colors
White is still the go-to color for more women saying ‘I do’ — a trend that was started by Queen Victoria back in 1840, when she married Prince Albert.
But not every ceremony these days features a blushing bride dressed in white. Though Lyst notes that it is still the most-searched bridal color, the site is seeing more women branching out — and not just to ivory or off-white.
Rose, yellow, and red bridal dresses are all seeing an increase in demand, even if the market hasn’t quite caught up yet. (Jenny Packham, however, did show a short red dress as part of her Spring 2018 bridal collection).
Searches for black bridal dresses have also increased 18 per cent since last year, possibly thanks to Reem Acra’s Spring 2018 bridal collection, which featured 12 black dresses at the start of the show (followed by six white ones with black accents).
Feeling bold: Jumpsuits are more popular than ever, with several designers turning out options
Retro: Bridal suits are all the rage, with women opting for separates more often
Update: The jumpsuit look is certainly modern — and may make dancing even easier (left: Black Halo, $525,bloomingdales.com; right: BHLDN, $900, bhldn.com)
Ooh-la-la! Though brides were once exclusively demure and modest, more women now want to look sexy on their wedding day
A modern update
In the early 20th century, it wasn’t uncommon for a bride to turn up in a suit, but the style mostly fell out of fashion after the ’40s.
Lately, however, bridal suits are becoming more popular again — as are bridal jumpsuits. In fact, Lyst saw searches for both go up 113 per cent in the last year.
While silhouettes are modernizing, so are attitudes toward showing skin. More brides these days are looking for ‘backless,’ ‘sexy,’ and ‘nude’ bridal looks.
And top designers like Monique Lhullier, Ines de Santo, Reem Acra, and Zuhair Murad are delivering, with corset details, lots of sheer fabric and lace, and plunging necklines.
On the flip-side, though, some modest looks have also become more popular: ‘Long sleeve’ and ‘high neck’ dresses have seen a combined 47 per cent increase in searches on Lyst.
Prices going down
Budget-conscious brides can breathe easier knowing that overall, wedding dresses are getting cheaper.
This year, the average wedding dress on Lyst (which aggregates from many e-retailers) is $1,102 (£789) — a 5 per cent decrease from the year before.
And last year, it decreased 25 per cent from the year before that — meaning dresses, on average, are $447 (£320) less than they were in 2016.
OId-school glam: 1920s-style accessories have grown in popularity — especially pearl hair clips like this one (Wedding Belles New York, $170, nordstrom.com)
’20s accessories are in
As for the extras, 1920s-style pieces are increasingly popular. Hair clips and headpieces have risen 39 per cent in the past year, with Simone Rocha being the most searched-for brand.
Women are also five times more likely to search for jewel-encrusted or colored shoes that cream-colored or white ones.
There are also 24 per cent more feathered bridal products available to buy now than there were a year ago.
Royal ambitions: The Giles Deacon dress that Pippa Middleton wore in May inspired an uptick in searches for the designer
Modern: Last month, Emily Ratajkowski wore a mustard-colored Zara suit to her wedding — inspiring increased interest for both Zara suits and mustard-colored suits in general
Stars set the trends
As always, celebrity brides tend to be pretty influential, and Lyst figured out which brides had the biggest impact in the past year.
Pippa Middleton inspired many with her Giles Deacon dress. The designer saw a 148 per cent spike in searches in May, the month she married James Matthews.
Serena Williams set off shopping trends not with one of her three dresses (by Alexander McQueen and Versace) but with her jeweled Nike sneakers: The style, the Nike Cortez, saw an eight per cent increase in searches the week of her November wedding to Alexis Ohanian.
Emily Ratajkowski, who married Sebastian Bear-McClard in a courthouse in February, shocked fans by wearing a mustard-colored Zara suit to say ‘I do.’
But fans were intrigued, too: Searches for Zara suits increased that week, as did mustard-colored suits in general.
In Australia, there was a spike in searches for bridal headpieces after Miranda kerr wore a Stephen Jones one at her May wedding to Evan Spiegel.
And earlier this month, more women searched for lace capelets after Chanel Iman wore an embellished cape to her wedding to Sterling Shepard.