London label Talia Byre’s alternative bridalwear: ‘Have a white moment, but turn it on its head’

Talia Lipkin-Connor, the designer behind London-based label Talia Byre, says her collections – which are often rooted in family heirlooms and vintage finds – are about the ‘quiet power of dressing on one’s own terms’. Eschewing the typical runway show, Lipkin-Connor has hosted presentations in tiny art galleries and bookstores, with attendees jostling for space to glimpse her creations, which she describes as ‘structured but soft, unusual but wearable, romantic but never saccharine’.

It is no surprise, then, that when Lipkin-Connor set out to create her first bridalwear collection, it would be far from ‘the glossy, aisle-focused, one-day-only’ gowns that – despite shifts in fashion trends elsewhere – remain the standard for the potential bride. ‘We really wanted to avoid that puffy dress podium moment,’ she tells Wallpaper* of her alternative bridalwear approach. ‘Having been through so many of those experiences – good and bad – with friends and family, we just wanted to create pieces that make people truly feel like themselves, the best version of themselves, on their special day.’

Talia Byre’s alternative bridalwear

The idea for bridalwear had been percolating for some time for Lipkin-Connor, who recounts that one of her first Talia Byre pieces was actually for the wedding of a close friend. ‘It was a custom pencil skirt for my friend who was getting married,’ she says. ‘She wore it with a beautiful cashmere V-neck jumper and looked perfect. So classic! We’ve also done a few other bespoke pieces, but wanted to open it out to a full wardrobe.’

Several of the pieces from the ‘small and specific’ collection – which numbers 12 pieces in total – take previous Talia Byre creations and reimagine them in white, a colour which Lipkin-Connor remains a proponent of when it comes to wedding dressing. ‘Have a white moment but turn it on its head with the modernity of the style,’ she says when asked her tips for brides selecting their dress. ‘And of course to just try everything, you can't tell just looking at it – see how you feel in it.’

‘We loved the idea of taking runway looks and creating them in white for a really cool bridal moment,’ she continues. As such, pieces span bias-cut mini dresses, silk pencil skirts, raw-edged shirts and tailored trousers which fold over at the waist. Colours range various shades of white: Lipkin-Connor wanted to avoid the cliched ‘optic’ white, choosing instead softer hues of ‘ivory, chalk, cream, candlelight [and] bone’. ‘Together they look lived-in, layered, natural,’ she continues. ‘The woman this is for is unlikely to buy her wedding look all in one go. She might already own part of it – the idea is that you could build your own combination. Ceremony, dinner, dancing. The day before. The morning after.’

A handful of playful accessories, including a beanie hat with veil, accompany the collection. ‘We really wanted to add some cool veil options that felt modern and fresh, trialling a no lace approach,’ she explains. ‘We have a short one that almost looks like a little tulle fringe, a medium length designed to frame the hair in a white grosgrain and the beanie veil. We also added some short white jersey gloves and a long poplin glove edged in white grosgrain for a real moment.’

Everything from the collection will be made to order (options for the service will include a simpler ‘tailored’ approach and a full bespoke fitting). ‘No stock held. No artificial scarcity. Just garments made when they’re needed, for people who genuinely want them,’ she explains. ‘We want to fit everything perfectly.’

Indeed, Lipkin-Connor says that the perfect wedding dress is as much about how you feel as how you look. ’And we want people to feel like themselves,’ she says.

Talia Byre bridal wear is available at taliabyre.com.

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