Don O'Neill for Theia (Interview)

(from Trustyourstyle.com)

While working on my March/April column for Affluent Magazine, I recently came across the work of Don O'Neill, Irish born designer and Creative Director for THEIA. I thought you might love his bright spring collection as well as the new White Collection he's developed for non-traditional brides as much as I do, so I invited Don to stop by Trust Your Style to talk about his new Spring 2011 collection.

Born and raised in a small village in Ireland, much of Don's culture and upbringing have inspired his collection for THEIA. A dash of some good old fashioned “luck of the Irish” has helped to successfully launch the collection (it debuted in Fall 2009) during one of the harshest economic times in history and in less than 2 years since the launch, it's been sold in over 350 stores across the world and worn by top Hollywood celebs including Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

mj: The collection is beautiful and so luxe. What was the inspiration for this collection?
don o'neill: The Spring 2011 collection was inspired by a pastel water color painting of Poppies. The soft colors were fresh and feminine, and originally inspired a dreamy ball gown that I created for Carrie Underwood at the 2010 ACM Awards. The gown was so inspiring that the Spring collection blossomed around it.

mj: How do you define beauty for a woman?
don: I define beauty as elegance wrapped around confidence. Confident women radiate beauty! Beauty cannot and should not be defined by fashion magazines and TV sitcoms. It is redefined over and over again by confident women, who continually make us see beauty in new ways.

mj: what does trusting your style mean to you?
don: Trusting your style means to trust your instincts and to wear what you believe you look good in and feel good in. Each of us are as unique as our finger prints, and with so many designers and stores offering so many choices, we now have the freedom to express ourselves however we chose. There is no wrong or right, (even if Joan Rivers believes otherwise).

With the wedding season just around the corner, some of these soft stunners could be the answer to a bride still searching for the perfect dress. The main collection is sold at select Saks Fifth Avenue stores and Neiman Marcus across the country.


Original articles by Mary Jo Matsumoto:
http://www.trustyourstyle.com/2011/01/don-oneill-for-theia.html

How Royal can that be? Prince's Wedding Cake

英國威廉王子和未婚妻凱特米德爾頓的婚期日近，世界各地的頂級製餅師都在競逐成為“皇室蛋糕”的製作人。真正的蛋糕雖然暫時未有得睇，但我們可以先一睹這充滿藝術感的草圖：
As the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton is approaching, top bakers around the world is competing to present their "royal cake" on the wedding. We may have to wait until then to see the real cake, but we can a glimpse of the sketches for now:

(A)

這個由Elizabeth Hodes Custom Cakes設計的蛋糕（A），有威廉王子的外衣上的獨角獸及獅子作為支柱，酒紅色的蛋糕再加上百合花圖案。每層的底部有類似毛皮裝飾以代表聖愛德華王冠。
This cake is by Elizabeth Hodes Custom Cakes (A), the unicorn and lion depicted on Prince William's coat of arms are rendered in gumpaste, and function as pillars between the burgundy-colored tiers, accented with a fleur de lis pattern. The ermine pattern is meant to resemble the fur trim of St. Edward's crown.

(B)

這個出自Colette's Cakes（B）的華麗蛋糕有7層，每層點綴著數以百計的手工糖花象徵皇室家族，包括水仙（威爾士的國花），鈴蘭（一種傳統王室最喜歡的花），英國風信子（象徵英國鄉村和預示春天的到來）。
This flowery cake by Colette's Cakes (B) has 7 tiers, each tier is adorned with hundreds of handmade sugar flowers with significance to the royal family, including daffodils (the national flower of Wales), lily of the valley (a traditional favorite of the royal family), and English bluebells (which carpet the English countryside and herald the coming of spring). 


這個由Shelly's Cake Studio提供設計蛋糕 (C)則由在夫婦的儀式地點，西敏寺大教堂之中的建築細節作為設計的靈感來源。The architectural details of the couple's ceremony location, Westminster Abbey, provide the design's inspiration for this cake by Shelly's Cake Studio (C). 


靈感來自十九世紀"美好年代"裝飾的白金漢宮，這個Cake Opera Co. 的蛋糕（D）華麗的設計包括用淡綠色的軟糖和可食用的金箔的24k金作為裝飾。蛋糕最特別的部分，是中層的“鏡子”是用融化的糖製成。

(C)

Inspired by the Belle Epoque décor of Buckingham Palace, this cake by Cake Opera Co. (D) in ornate design is covered in pale moss green-colored fondant and painted in 24k edible gold. The most distinguished part is the center tier which depicts a salon style "mirror" made from melted sugar. 

(D)

制作這個“現代溫莎城堡”的Lulu Cake Boutique (E)，相對其他競爭者的設計，顯得較為簡約。其中包括了黃金橡葉做成的花圈，其中有5層八角的蛋糕覆都蓋著手繪橡葉圖案的可食用金箔圖案。
This "Modern House of Windsor" by Lulu Cake Boutique (E), which includes a wreath of gold acorns and leaves, has 5 octagonal tiers which are covered with a subtle leaf-and-acorn pattern rendered in hand-painted edible gold leaf. 

(E)

相比起其他對手，這個Cake Suite的作品（F）顯得較為女性化，但仍然高貴。它包括幾個傳統的皇家主題，包括國徽和皇家monogram。最上層的圓頂設計看起來像一個王冠，而第二層就是一個全白的軟糖版本的西敏寺的玫瑰窗。
This feminine confection by Cake Suite (F) may seems less intimidating than the others but still look royal. It includes several nods to traditional royal themes, including Prince William's coat of arms and royal monogram. The domed top tier is designed to look like a royal crown, while the second tier displays an all-white fondant version of Westminster Abbey's rose window. 

(F)

另一個蛋糕裝飾靈感亦是來自白金漢宮的建築，這一個由Cake Coquette（G）設計特點在於她細緻且充滿皇家色彩的糖衣雕花。中間層就刻有威廉王子和未婚妻的monogram, 以及人手制作的水仙糖花。

(G)

Another cake inspired by the ornamental architecture of Buckingham Palace, this one by Cake Coquette (G) has its design features detailed flourishes piped in royal icing and painted in gold leaf. The middle tier displays Kate and Will's monogram, while handmade sugar flowers—including daffodils—complete the regal look. 


這個六個層次蛋糕由Ana Parzych Custom Cakes設計的蛋糕（H）就充滿層層的糖花，包括英國玫瑰（英國國花），番石榴（在傳統開始由維多利亞女王，王室新娘攜帶一枝番石榴在花束），與及野生百合。
This six-tier cake by Ana Parzych Custom Cakes (H) is covered with cascading sugar flowers, including English roses (the British national flower), myrtle (in a tradition started by Queen Victoria, royal brides carry a sprig of myrtle in their bouquets), and lily of the valley. The white fondant tiers are "brush embroidered" (a hand-painting technique in which intricate designs are piped on with royal icing then smudged with a wet brush) with a daffodil and scroll design. 

(H)

這種由Studio Cake Design設計的“現代宮廷”（I），是一個5層六角形蛋糕，鋪滿了用軟糖做成的藍色draping。Draping上的金糖按鈕則是威廉王子的徽號的象徵。

(I)

This "modern royal" by Studio Cake Design (I), have hexagonal-shaped tiers which are accented with fondant draping in sapphire blue, one of Kate's favorite hues. Each drape is anchored with gold sugar buttons embossed with Prince William's coat of arms. 

from Brides.com

chinese text by mariee

Tradition Meets Culture

It's been quite some time that we haven't wrote anything for our readers. It's been really really busy last month as many brides here loved to get wed before year's end. A year gone by, and here we are again to share with you wedding stories. "Utterly Engaged", one of our favorite online wedding magazine, features stories of weddings in many different cultures in its latest issue. Anna and Israel met in the US while Anna, a Swedish exchange student born in Brazil, spend her year as a exchange student. They fell in love and decided to get married years later. Their wedding was set on a summer house laid at a beautiful coast at Sweden, the place where Anna and Israel spend most of their time in Sweden. On their wedding, they follow a couple of Swedish wedding traditions. One of them is all female guests must get in line to kiss the groom when the bride goes to the bathroom and vice versa. So while Anna was in the bathroom, a few hairy "women" (men) got in line to kiss Israel... Another tradition is the newly wed had to stand up and kiss on the chairs, which they did many times throughout their dinners.

When two peoples are stepping towards a new phase of their life, it's natural for couples to incorporate traditions into their weddings. Bill and Giang were married in a traditional Vietnamese and Chinese ceremony. Giang worn a traditional red Vietnamese dress with a train that gave it a modern touch. They followed the traditions with ring ceremony at Giang's parent's house and then moved to Bill's parent's house for a tea ceremony to symbolically welcome the bride's family. Both places were decorated with symbols of good luck and double happiness. And of course, their bridesmaid and groomsmen all dressed in colourful traditional dresses as well!

















from www.utterlyengaged.com

Designer Profile: Atelier Diagonal by Pronovias

Atelier Diagonal are part of the worldwide group in bridal gowns, PRONOVIAS FASHION GROUP. The Pronovias company presented its first prêt-à-porter bridal collection in 1964, thus taking an important step that would propel the company into the 21st century by combining the bridal and prêt-à-porter concepts in a single, innovative project. In 1968, Pronovias opened its first specialist bridal store in Spain, a single location where brides could find the dresses and all the accessories they needed. It now has more than 3800 sales points in 75 countries all around the world.

The company's in-depth experience filters through to all its decisions, a tradition that has from its origins in "El Suizo", an establishment that opened in 1922 in Barcelona specialising in lace, silk and embroidery for brides. This savoir faire is the result of the almost 100 years during which the family has been specialising in satisfying brides and making their dreams come true. A spirit that has lasted through the years, surviving changes and fashions in the manner of a real house style.

www.atelierdiagonal.es

"Sheer Delight" Coverage by InMagazine

InMagazine, a luxury lifestyle magazine, just featured some of the few dresses from the Kitty Chen Couture 2010 collection. We are mostly agreed with the writer, Maureen, that when it comes to wedding gowns, it doesn’t always have to be big, white and fluffy, but rather simple and delicate piece can truely dazzle. Check it out on the InMagazine site here.

"婚紗不一定要寬大、雪白、蓬鬆。 Kitty Chen的2010婚紗系列以魚尾裙作主打，將現代元素與舒適度結合得天衣無縫..." 按此觀看InMagazine介紹全文。