One of the most formal events of anyone's life is one's wedding. So, it seems hardly surprising that (Ethiopian) American fashion designer Amsale chose to design wedding dresses.
Amsale's Christian, formalized background, I would argue, led her to pursue one of the most formal clothings of all.
At her wedding, a girl is finally a woman. She leaves her parents' home to start her own. And will soon have her own children with whom she must interact as a fully matured adult.
Although, in Christian households, there is a hierarchy of adults, the woman is still the head of the internal runnings of the household, and the behavior and upbringing of the children. She cannot afford to regress into the child she was at her parents’ home.
That is the ideal, in any case.
So, the wedding dress expresses this ideal. It shows a formal and aesthetic acceptance of the woman's adulthood and womanhood at a most important turning point in her life.
Amsale captures this beautifully.
Almost all of her designs are exquisitely formal. Her choice of the stiffer satin rather than the formless silk, her clinching of the waist, her emphasis on clean, straight lines, and above all a mature femininity of beautiful lacework, show her innate understanding of this unique moment in a woman’s life.
I’m not surprised that Amsale has so far stuck with designing bridal wear, rather than branching out into other clothing lines
Until she has mastered her trade to the level of the formal designer greats like Valentino, she is better off keeping out of the limelight which might force her to compromise her style for the running market.
At least, that would be my advice to her.
Amsale's ivory-toned wedding gowns