The Wedding Dress at NMS

“The Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Fashion” from Londons’ Victoria & Albert Museum is on exhibit at The National Museum of Singapore. Being a fan of lacy, beaded, ornate, frilly, fun wedding dresses (including my own), I checked it out last week.

Several old, traditional Asian wedding gowns surround the entrance to the exhibit. The colors, design motifs and fabrics are bright and celebratory in comparison to the monochromatic wedding trends of recent history.

In times of war during the past century, fabric has been subject to control and rationing. Except for upholstery fabric for furniture and drapes! The exhibit included some creative wedding dresses made from fabric that normally would have become curtains (Scarlet O’Hara had the right idea). This tiered dress wasn’t one of them, but sure looked like it was made from the valances of a plantation house.

This unusual beaded and embroidered gown was made by Christian Lacroix — high marks for creativity but not my favorite. Somehow I don’t think the mannequin is helping matters.

Here’s Dita Von Teese’s lace wedding corset — totally delicate, gorgeous and beautifully constructed. Her wedding gown by Vivienne Westwood is also a masterpiece of construction, but I think I’d like it better in a more muted color (and with a different mannequin — she looks so stiff).

The exhibit finale is an asymmetrical wedding gown by John Galliano for Gwen Stefani. It fades from white to pink in drapes of airbrushed fabric the color of cotton candy. A very sweet dress, no doubt, and a savory little exhibit.