The British Charlotte Balbier Bridal Brand, known for their fashion forward unique gowns, recently caused excitement with their first stocklist in Germany and is expanding. Bridal Times had the pleasure to catch up with Tabatha Lee, Head of Design Charlotte Balbier brand to find out more about her style and latest collection ahead of the Interbride.
Can you give a little overview of how you came to be a Bridal Designer?
After falling in love with Textiles through High school I went onto to University to study fashion with Textile design. It was there that I learnt to embellish and design beautiful garments and so I decided to spend my last year focusing on design for Bridal. I began a placement with Charlotte Balbier Bridal during my last year of University and then went on to begin designing for the brand.
What is your personal style and does it reflect on the wedding gowns you design?
I am certainly not one to dress up with glitz and glam, I usually opt for a floaty plain dress and boots. I do think this sometimes reflects in my designs as they are not full of bling, they just have small accents that make the gowns more feminine and pretty.
Congratulations on the launch of the 2020 Ethereal Beauty Collection! Tell us about it and the inspiration behind it?
Thank you very much! The word ‘Ethereal’ stands for something delicate and I believe all the gowns within the collection have something delicate and certainly beautiful about them. My inspiration for this came from all around me. For example the gown ‘Aerial’ was very much inspired by everyday fashion at the moment, I used a Plisse finish fabric to give a modern look to this gown, with sleeves that aren’t attached to the dress so brides feel like they aren’t restricted throughout the day. The ‘Maia’ dress was something I wanted to add as a twist on bridal separates. She has a soft feminine tulle gown that sits on top of a satin slip with accents of lace to match both pieces. This allows brides to have one look for their ceremony and a second sexier look for their evening, this proved to be very popular at the show.
Aerial Gown
Maia Gown
The Ethereal Beauty gown at the White Gallery was a true eye-catcher. What makes the gowns in the collection unique?
I wanted the dresses to introduce something different and to keep as far away from lace as possible so as alternatives I used a lot of sequinned tulles & Devore to give a different feel to the designs. I went to many fabric exhibitions in search of something different and I think I have achieved this. Every gown has been well thought out when drawn and every one has a different feature to make it unique. I have introduced boat necklines to accent the shoulders and square necklines for girls that want to feel a bit more secure. I have also thought a lot about structure and comfort, it is very important for a girl to feel beautiful on her big day but to have the comfort to last all day in her gown also and my designs most certainly offer this.
Ethereal Beauty Gown
Which have been your favourite fabrics to work with for this collection?
Definitely the sequinned floral fabric I used for the ‘Ethereal Beauty’ gown is number one. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to use it for something and I knew the design had to be special. I also loved the Plisse finish fabric I used for the ‘Aerial’ as I haven’t seen it used before in Bridal in such a way and I was excited to create something so unique.
What are the most important things brides should keep in mind whilst choosing their gown?
I think it’s important for a bride to try every shape of gown to truly see what suits their body type the best. Once they know this their choice becomes more obvious of what they feel good and look good in. It is important for brides to have the feeling when choosing a gown, and if you don’t have that feeling it’s not the ‘one’.
What have been your proudest moments as head designer of Charlotte Balbier?
I have recently done a Designer day at one of our stockists in the UK. As I was organising this an Irish bride got in touch with me and was desperate to try the ‘Ethereal Beauty’ gown on. I told her to come along and see me, she flew all the way from Ireland to Mansfield to try the dress and completely fell in love with it. As soon as she put it on everyone in the room knew that, that was the gown for her. That has to be my proudest moment so far. From seeing that gown in my head to drawing it and then to see it on a real bride who loved it so much was incredible.
Discover the Ethereal Beauty Collection at the Interbride from May 4-6th, 2019, Stand E036!
For further information, visit Charlotte Balbier Bridal