How could we not fall for a designer whose particular penchants include girls with gap-toothed grins, the way women dressed at horse races in 1926, and white? (Which, she insists, is anything but a non-color.)
Parisian designer Delphine Manivet is particularly attentive to the importance of fabrics, the essential starting point of any creation. The ateliers constantly reinvent the lightweight silks, the lace, the cotton fabrics, the embroidered cotton tulles…
For Delphine Manivet, finding the wedding gown as an object to devote her creativity seems the result of three things: a sense of fantasy she’s held onto fiercely since childhood, a respect for her instinct above all, and fate. In her early twenties Delphine left coursework in economics and moved to Paris to
pursue her persisting dream of becoming a fashion designer. She soon found herself working at Rochas, and as it happened, beginning a search for her own wedding dress. When she couldn’t find anything that seemed right, she decided to design her own. Each creation honors this inherited knowledge and confirms a style both chic and fresh.
Delphine’s inspiration:
“Every day is an opportunity to gather inspiration. Of course I look to fashion past—the fine stitchwork on Marie-Antoinette’s dresses, the ingenuity of Jeanne Lanvin—but it’s also very much about the women of today, observing them and striving to understand what makes them feel beautiful. If I have an idea for a dress, I document whatever I can about it and then let it rest. As I do this I create a collection from which I can pull, add to, and adjust at any time. It’s only when I feel a design is complete—when all of the elements such as textiles, lines, and details are there—that I decide to sketch it. I’ll make as many sketches as necessary until it matches what I imagined.”
“When I began designing wedding gowns, my only goal was to create dresses that myself and my friends would want to wear. To me, a wedding gown should have sense of airiness, authenticity, and a streamlined silhouette. I also enjoy marrying modern with vintage, like the way an old, yellowed lace looks next to bright white cotton. Each collection is a search to find a balance between dream and simplicity.”
– Delphine Manivet
Delphine’s classic collection is available in all of ours boutiques.