TGIFF, y’all!! It has been a ca-razy week for me and I’m so glad it’s not just Friday, but that’s it’s Fashionista Friday! If nothing else, we can drool over some gorgeous wedding gowns! I’ve highlighted him before (in this St. Regis Washington DC wedding post), but I just had to share Jorge Manuel’s latest collection of wedding gowns, The Reverie.
The Reverie Collection “brings to life the journey of a child’s ‘daydream’,” says Manuel. “The wedding day…is a rite of passage. A child becomes a woman on this big day. I want to make brides feel that this moment is a culmination of the making of young dreams into adult reality.” Composed of 15 dresses, each dress is named, in French, after everything a child spires to become.
The Reverie is fresh and bold, yet timeless and speaks to the bride who wants something “different” in her wedding gown.
Here are some of my favorites from Jorge’s latest collection.
The Princesse: Mermaid gown featuring a sweetheart neckline with a hand-encrusted lace border and bias detail throughout and chapel train.
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The Poet: A gorgeous sweetheart-necklined gown with hand-encrusted and re-embroidered lace at bodice and multi-layered tulle A-line skirt with bias detail at skirts hem. S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G!
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The Directeur: A semi-sweetheart Shantung mermaid dress with hand beaded and encrusted floral lace at bodice and silk satin bias detail that runs all along mid hem.
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MEET JORGE
Jorge Manuel, a young Cuban-American designer from Miami, is fairly new to the wedding fashion scene but has quickly developed a signature style. His designs are strongly influenced by his architectural background, which he says juxtapose Caribbean flair with Asian minimalism, and cubist designs with Art Deco flourishes, making for a unique signature touch that is his alone.
Jorge Manuel’s first wedding gown was designed and produced at the age of 17, and his artistic expression found its niche in something very close to home: his grandmother passed away still nursing her dream of one day opening her own bridal atelier. In 2008, he unveiled his first collection, “The Etelvina Collection,” comprised of haute couture gowns inspired by his grandmother and other special women that had deeply influenced his life.
Since then, his couture gowns, all exquisitely handcrafted and designed, have been worn by discriminating clients looking for something just a little different.
Jorge Manuel gowns may be found exclusively in North Carolina at Nitsas in Charlotte.
And here are a few favorites from previous collections:
The Cafeniu
The Lloyd Wright
The Sejima
So, what do you think of Jose Manuel’s aesthetic? Which gown tops your list of faves?
