Savannah Miller has been dressing brides since 2016. She has just returned from all the major bridal fashion shows in New York, Barcelona, London and Milan where she launched her latest Spring/Summer 2023 collection, Spellbound. She takes time out from planning her own wedding this year to share all her expertise for a no-regrets wedding day look.
‘My design process has really evolved . . . I used to design things I liked, but now I know very clearly who my brides are and what they want from me – and that is to look like the very best version of themselves. They don’t want to look alien to the woman they are in their everyday lives. For me it’s about designing comfortable, wearable dresses that are very flattering and that have a touch of fashion detail that elevates them and makes them feel modern and special.
It’s critical that people feel good . . . and I certainly wouldn’t feel good in a bias-cut slip dress. I’d be very conscious of all my lumps and bumps. So, now we do very clever things like built-in, smoothed-over corsets that are very soft, not at all like the traditional corset that might feel more like armoury. Ours make you feel held in and supported. It’s about striking the balance between being elegant, comfortable and your best self.
You have to get very close to the bride to see some of the detailing on my dresses . . .that feels very sensual and intimate to me because ultimately a wedding is between two people, it’s a marriage so I want her to reveal herself slowly to her partner. That feels like the ultimate sexy thing rather than everything being on show. This is more about subtle suggestion. It’s why I love using tulle and chiffon so when a bride walks you just see a hint of her leg. That’s much sexier than if everything is just out.
Tythe is absolutely beautiful . . . and my Fleur dress is perfect for a Tythe wedding. The train isn’t too long, so it isn’t going to get muddy. You’ve got a very beautiful understated slip dress, a cold shoulder detail with chiffon then a scattered pearl tulle on top and over that is a Chantilly lace so it feels very considered and very English countryside which I love. For the bride who wants a bit more structure, Aria with the big taffeta puff sleeves is incredible. It has a balcony bust line with little peeping satin bust cups that are very Bridgerton-inspired. I absolutely love that Regency fashion period, I always have. The beauty of this dress is that the sleeves are detachable. So, you might have a dramatic silhouette for the service, but they come off, they unsnap, so then you’re left with a very clean square neckline, so you feel very modern and cool. Another look I would adore to see at Tythe is Winter because I think those barns fully lit with candles at an evening wedding with a backless satin dress would be absolute killer.
I am embracing the veil . . . because the second you put one on, it’s very clear, here’s the bride. It can be very understated, simplistic and beautiful when you’re just getting a suggestion of the woman’s face. Even if it’s not worn over the face, just having that suggestion around her back is very dramatic and a good way of switching your look up from your ceremony to your party. You can be this beautiful ethereal creature at the altar and then you whip off the veil and you’re a sex bomb in a slip dress.
In the past 18 months I have started to do lots more bespoke looks . . . where I work one-on-one with my brides. They are really creative, and I love working that way. Generally, when people come to us for bespoke, they do so because they can’t find anything out there that they want and often they think they don’t know what they want but they do. They just haven’t found it yet. So, we work with them to pick out exactly what it is they like and then we develop the design into something that we feel would suit them, in line with what we do already. It’s amazing because I get to work with the most amazing pattern cutters and seamstresses, it’s a couture bespoke service so it’s made to measure to the last millimetre and incredibly satisfying. I’m personally involved with every bespoke appointment so the next step will be to open an atelier in London, it’s very embryonic but watch this apace. Remember if you want something made bespoke you would ideally come to us with a minimum of six months before the wedding because it’s so detailed.
For my wedding this year I just want to look like a fairy queen . . . I want to wear golden lace and a crown. I’ve got to have a chat with myself because this is very off-brand for me.
The wedding will be in London at Christmas time with lots of carols. The venue is incredibly romantic and perfect for a candlelit wedding, then we’ll have a party in Soho and then I’ll bring out the big guns. Coming to the design process as a bride is very strange, it’s like ‘who are you and what have you done with Savannah Miller?’ because this is nothing like anything we’ve ever done before.’
Savannah Miller Bridal Spring/Summer 2023 will be in store October 2022. The nearest stockists to Tythe are:
https://www.thewhiteroom.co.uk/
