If you’ve seen a chic fashion bride on Instagram (or, indeed, on Vogue) recently, the chances are that their dress was made by Wed. From creative director Nellie Eden’s Audrey Hepburn-inspired gown to Drest fashion editor Olivia Buxton Smith’s three-part bridal look, the London-based brand has been knocking it out of the park lately.
“I think people are drawn to [Wed] because the traditional bridal aesthetic doesn’t make sense to them; in their every day life they are not that princess girl,” co-founder and creative director Amy Trinh tells Vogue of the brand’s incredible success. “There’s a bit of a rebellious nature [to our designs] – we’re like, ‘This isn’t bridal [as you know it], but it is’.”
Wed has been pushing the boundaries of bridalwear ever since Trinh, together with her former Central Saint Martins classmate Evan Phillips, launched the brand in 2019. The idea came about after Trinh couldn’t find a dress that she wanted to wear for her own wedding. “[Your wedding dress] should be an extension of yourself,” the designer explains.
Since then, the label has become known for its exaggerated silhouettes and exquisite draping, with the likes of Jennie Kim and Celeste among its high-profile fans. While initially the focus was on ready-to-wear collections that “tiptoed” between occasionwear and bridal, the business has increasingly pivoted towards creating custom wedding looks. “Post Covid, the majority of what we’ve been doing apart from small bits of wholesale is bespoke bridal, which threw us fully into the bridal world,” Phillips says.
It’s why Wed has now decided to launch its first bridal-specific ready-to-wear collection, designed to be its core offering. “With the custom things that we’ve done, we get people emailing us, ‘Can I have that same dress?’ and we obviously can’t do exactly the same,” Trinh says. “This is why we’ve done this collection, because we were like, ‘Can we do this in a way that is affordable for other people, but they still have the essence of Wed and the style they love?’”
Priced between £2,000 and £5,000, the collection comprises 30 pieces, ranging from the brand’s signature puff-ball skirts to more understated designs. Stand-out pieces include a strapless smocked dress embellished with black sequins, along with a one-shoulder gown featuring a simple keyhole cut-out. “[The brand] has matured slightly,” Trinh notes, pointing to the liquid draping that appears in the collection. “It feels sexy but also a little bit weird.”
As with Wed’s previous collections, the designers have used deadstock and recycled fabrics, along with other eco-minded fibres such as Tencel Luxe. But the designers admit that the brand is by no means perfect from a sustainability perspective. “It’s something we’re still trying to work on,” Trinh says. “There’s lots of conversation about recycled polyester [for example].”
Still, the Wed ethos means that many of its brides are able to wear their dresses and separates beyond the wedding day itself, with its upcycling service also ensuring its pieces can continue to be worn well into the future.
It’s that personal touch that clearly sets Wed apart from the rest. While the ready-to-wear collection will be available directly from the brand, it will also be stocked in a select number of bridal boutiques. “Somebody will be there to guide [the bride-to-be] through the process of what suits them, what looks good, how we can lengthen it, adjust it, which makes it feel really special,” Trinh says. “[It’s as] if you were a VIP client at a major brand,” adds Phillips. “Everyone gets treated that way.”