SA designers say yes to Angie's scribbled dress

Actress Angelina Jolie's scribbly wedding dress may have the sartorial world divided, but South African designers are saying yes to the dress.

Jolie married actor Brad Pitt in a secret ceremony in France last week. And although they managed to keep it quiet, there has been little silence since pictures of her dress were published this week.

From the front, the plain white gown with ruched bust looks demure and bridal but the back and veil bear a cacophony of scribbles - the art works of their brood of six children, embroidered onto the fabric.

Some of South Africa's top bridal-wear designers were somewhat surprised by her choice, but most loved it.

Durban fashion designer Gideon said Jolie's dress was a testament to her individuality.

"I love her dress. It shows her freedom to express herself while remaining elegant. She is a woman who adores her children and wants to celebrate them as well - a beautiful, gentle and true mother's touch."

Cape Town designer Janita Toerien said: "I loved the simplicity of the dress. It focused on the sentimentality of the veil."

Kobus Dippenaar, another Cape Town designer, said: "If there was one celebrity I would want to dress, it would have been her.

"I think the dress is fantastic. I love that she doesn't conform. I love that she and Brad waited until they were ready to get married. And I love that the wedding was not about what people thought but about her and Brad and their family. I think she looked absolutely ravishing."

Johannesburg designer Gert Johan Coetzee said: "I think it was a beautiful dress. I really like the sentimental touch. I thought that she would go sleek and imagined her in something slightly more fitted, but this was very classical," he said.

Only one designer polled said the dress was "terrible". Durban designer Kathrin Kidger said: "I understand the sentimentality in getting kids involved ... but that kind of child artwork has a place and a wedding dress is not one of them.

"I still can't fathom why one of the world's most beautiful women would get married in that kind of dress. I think a very traditional shape and veil for a woman with enough children to constitute a soccer team is a little inappropriate."

The dress, or at least its sentimental elements, could spark a trend. Gideon said the dress was likely to prompt "a rise in self-expression in wedding dresses".

"My clients have always asked for personal embroidery and keepsakes on the inside of their dresses, but with Angelina's approach more people will follow the trend."

Both Coetzee and Toerien said clients already brought in meaningful items to include in their dresses.

"I had a bride whose mom passed away and we used the lace from her mother's wedding dress," Toerien said.

Coetzee said: "As a couture designer specialising in wedding dresses, this is something I see a lot, especially when a loved one has passed away and they bring an item that they want to include in the dress."

But Dippenaar said: "I wouldn't suggest people start scribbling on their dresses."

Jolie's nuptial attire is not the first to spark such conversation. Celebrity wedding dresses have long been a favourite subject of those who love Hollywood gossip and the odd royal newsflash.

Over the decades, dresses worn by the likes of Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton have triggered international wedding dress trends with clothing being copied by design houses. And it is not just the classy kit that makes headlines.

The dramatic purple Vivienne Westwood gown that burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese wore when she married musician Marilyn Manson made huge sartorial waves. As did the dip-dyed John Galliano dress that singer Gwen Stefani wore when she married Gavin Rossdale in 2002. Songbird Celine Dion wore a bizarre meringue of a gown when she married her former manager, Rene Angelil, in 1994. It was complemented by a Swarovski tiara that weighed 3kg and had to be stitched into her hair to stay put.

capazoriob@sundaytimes.co.za

govendersu@sundaytimes.co.za