Today in our Best of Bridal Fashion Week round-up, we're sharing a wedding dress collection that's not quite like anything we've shared before.
It's bold, it's fierce, and it's pretty freaking cool, but it's also about so much more that looking gorgeous on your wedding day.
For F/W 2017, Katharine Polk, founder of Houghton NYC, is continuing her crusade to make bridal fashion as fun and creative as everyday attire, but this season she's taking it up a notch.
‘Not Your Baby' is a collection that celebrates the women who wear Houghton, and not just their confidence, their beauty, their talents or their style, but their struggles too.
Among the chic crop top two pieces, the bridal varsity jackets (I want one!), the sexy cutouts, the seductive draping, the playful colour, the fur, the sparkle and the texture, is an alternative bridal collection that's rammed with as much substance as it has style.
To launch the collection, Houghton created a film (it's 15 minutes long, but totally worth the watch!) with this season's awesome and diverse poster girls, talking about motherhood, mental health, body image and career pressures.
We love a dose of real talk, and it's something that's so lacking in the bridal realm. So we're pretty excited to be sharing, not just a collection of beautiful, bad-ass wedding dresses, but moving the conversation of looking and feeling great on your wedding day away from simply shoes and hairstyles (both of which have their roles to play too!).
Scroll down for a behind the scenes look at Houghton's Bridal Fashion Week showcase, to hit play on the awesome film, and to check out this fabulous collection in all its glory.
But first up, let's hear more about the collaborations behind ‘Not your Baby', from way-paving designer, Katharine Polk.
From the Designer
The Fall/Winter 2017 “Not Your Baby” collection was inspired by successful, sexy and strong women.
I invited nine real Houghton Girls to participate in the project and designed looks with each individual woman’s personal style in mind to tell their story in the film.
After doing so many traditional runway shows, I felt compelled to create a more personal and inspirational project and add meaning to what I was designing. The film follows the women as they explore how they cope with the unrealistic standards and pressures that so many women face in their daily lives while modeling looks from the collection.
I collaborated with Jessica Gatlyn of Boho Ink on custom calligraphy logos and artwork, which can be seen on limited edition, knit sweaters, MC jackets and individualized embroidered baseball jackets.
Also seen in the film is the Houghton x Lulu Frost custom capsule collection of silver, rhinestone and satin chokers and earrings.
Behind the Scenes at Bridal Fashion Week
Watch the (Ultra Empowering!) Houghton Girl Film
The Houghton Girl from Whooden on Vimeo.
The Look Book
We love the big ballgowns, cool boho dresses and super sexy bridal collections around here, but it's also so refreshing to share a wedding dress collection that not just celebrations women, all kinds of women at that, but also shows brides there's a real alternative out there for what you can wear on your wedding day.
Visit the Houghton NYC site for more information on this exciting collection and the brand's stockists.
Check out more of our favourite Bridal Fashion Week collections.
