We recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Charles W. Bunstine, the mastermind behind the Anna Maier/Ulla~Maija bridal collection. Charles is one of our most valued designers, as he is extremely involved in every aspect of his extremely couture (and extremely successful) bridal line.
In addition to being wonderfully talented, Charles is a truly intriguing person and has had an incredible journey through the fashion industry. Our interview with him was so fascinating that we simply couldn't leave anything out! Fashionista brides, this one's for you. We hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about Charles and his latest collection, and that you'll help us to welcome him to Hitched this weekend for our Anna Maier/Ulla~Maija Trunk Show!
Hitched: Welcome, Charles! We're absolutely in love with your latest collection, especially because of the variety of fabrics and silhouettes. How would you describe the overall mood of this collection?
Charles W. Bunstine: It seems as though everyone at one time or another uses the term “very couture” in the description of their collection, and the term is used frequently in the description of mine. I think it suggests an attention to detail, construction and quality that is beyond what is the norm and I want that to be part of every collection we create. With this collection I wanted to add a particular degree of elegance and drama.
I was really influenced by the swans I see swimming in the water in front of my house every morning. They disappear behind the trees that block my view and then reappear with all the drama of a grand and elegant entrance. Their movement is all about grace, and their long necks and full bodies and facial markings are nothing but drama. I wanted all these mood elements to come out in the collection. It was funny when Black Swan came out. I did this runway show in October and sincerely had no idea the movie was in production. I love to mix the music for the show and I normally do the unexpected for a couture bridal show. Instead of the norm, I played the majority of the music from Swan Lake as the pre show music. I kept the most recognizable element of the ballet until the beginning of the show, when I had our first model Caterina come out in the dark. I let the music play just over a minute to the drama of the work and then brought up the lights and switched to The Black Eyed Peas. Caterina had on "Anna"-- the really dramatic draped white taffeta gown with its tightly pleated bodice. It was great! Caterina moved effortlessly like my swans and that is exactly how she carried herself. It was perfect; it set the tone for the whole show. We also used MC Solaar, the French rap artist, and the contrast of the music and the gowns was consistent with the drama we were hoping for.
Hitched: Are there any gowns you're particularly excited about or feel a connection with at the moment?
CWB: Well, "Anna" is the obvious choice because I opened the show with it and named it after my great grandmother, Anna Maier. It is nineteen yards of draped taffeta from Como, Italy. The fabric is really special and beautiful-- much like the taffeta used by Dior when he was designing in the 50’s. It has this incredible depth and substantial feel to it. It holds its own against our duchess satin, which few fabrics do. The gathers and draps are secured with large pearls-- though no one would ever see them, it seemed perfect to hide them there. "Anna" embodies all the elegance and drama that I wanted for the collection. It also is a nice reflection of the work done in the past by the true couture houses in Paris. I hope we will always be able to have elements of our collection take us there.
"Alberta" is my second slim lace gown. I don’t love lace normally because it can add unnecessary volume and blur the line of the body, but the "Alberta" lace is actually very narrow. We reconstruct it on the bias so the subtle floral pattern really accentuates the body line. It took me a long time to find the right angle of the lace to make it work. Iwanted the gown to highlight the shape of the body without getting too severe, so I shaped the fluted bottom of "Alberta" to just grace the hip and the leg, not compress it. We built into the inner dress support so that the flare of the skirt is constant. It is great both still and in movement. Oh yes, and "Alberta" happens to be my mother’s middle name and my grandmother’s first name.
"Claire" actually came from an old Dior image of a woman standing in shadow. You only saw part of the dress and the part that caught me was the little empire bow. I designed the dress and then had an idea for the embroidery, but our embroiderer showed me the idea I had executed and it was just average. He showed me a small piece of the vintage embroidery we ended up using on "Claire" and with only thirteen days until the show I quickly redesigned the embroidery to suit the bodice of the gown. It came in about 40 hours before show time. Just minutes before the show I added the little bow. Everyone was asking if I thought the bow was really necessary. “Necessary”, I said, “The bow is the dress!” Until this week we have only had the original "Claire." Everyone is fighting over it when it is not with me.
I was fitting a muslin of another dress that is the bodice that I use in "Felicite." The muslin looked really good on the body, so I decided to use the bodice in a new design. The actual body of "Felicite" came from designing a gown on another client. We were doing this gown in double charmeuse, but as we perfected the seam lines I knew they would also look great in bias duchess satin. I sketched the dramatic detachable train and just saw it the day of the show. It was great and added a dimension of drama and diversity. I could keep going, but I should really start focusing on the collection I am showing in about eight weeks! I am just kidding-- but the collection was really great and we were so lucky that their was so much diversity and excitement in it.
Hitched: When designing your gowns, who or what do you rely on for inspiration?
CWB: My closest friend buries me in images from all over the world of current fashion and fashionable people. She has a great point of view and sense of look. She is also the hair and makeup aficionado for the show. We have worked together for decades. Also, I research the past. I study all the great work from the past that I can but I frame all that research into the mood that I feel for the collection. That just comes to me. It comes to me from what I am experiencing in my life and generally what is going on in the world. Beyond the “whos” in the business, I have a lot of women that roll around in all the images in my mind. Some are the icons we all look to, others are characters in a scene, others are women I have known and others are the women in my life who I always want to find ways to make them look as beautiful as the naturally are. What I do just enhances who and what they are, and I am lucky to have them.
Honestly, I never look at bridal fashion. My whole life has been in the broader fashion world. I see bridal as simply an extension of the most elegant and dramatic part of the fashion world.
Hitched: What is the best part of the design process, and what's the most stressful/difficult?
CWB: The best part is succeeding in complimenting a client’s beauty. The most stressful is not finding perfection. I know it is hard to think of perfection in a garment when it has so many various elements that challenge the absolute, but I want us to do our best for each client. I want that to be built into the design so that as we make each design, the fundamental lines are so sound that they are perfect for everyone. It is difficult to distill all of my ideas into a perfected collection but that is just the life we have chosen.
Hitched: We think it's such a treat having you in the store for trunk shows. What is the best part about getting to interact with actual brides who will wear one of your gowns on their wedding day?
CWB: I used to have someone whose entire job it was to sell the collection at trunk shows. I then began to think that that was not an added value to the bride. The consultants can sell. The person traveling with the collection should be able to tell the bride what they were thinking about when they designed the collection. They should be able to help the bride understand the sample in the context of their body. My runway samples are made for my models, so often they need some explaining since most brides aren’t 5’10” with a size 6 bust,4 waist, and 2 hip. By adding some size 10 or 8 samples to that mix, I can really help explain how I wanted the design to look on a bride’s body. Most of my designs are complex and line is very important. It is critical to show brides how those lines are going to compliment them. That said, that is also when the responsibility shifts-- when committing to a bride how my design will look on them. At the end of the day I have to make sure the gown is right, which is why we make everything about fifteen feet from my work table.
I have been friends for a very long time with the individual who now heads JCrew, and once in a telephone conversation he said to me, “What is it exactly that you are doing right now?” I replied, “You remember, I have a couture bridal and eveningwear business.” He said, “So that means you are right there with the customer; she is right in front of you. Isn’t that scary?” I said, “Actually, yes, it is.” He quickly came back with, “But it’s cool!” And it is. It is the elimination of separation between my work and my client. We seek perfection but can only do our best, but face-to-face we commit that sincere effort to our clients.
I think it is important that the owners of Hitched are on the floor all the time. We have an obligation to our clients to take responsibility for our work. I do it with every client and have a staff that is simply dedicated to it. I think of it this way; a bride has an image of herself and her wedding that she has likely had for a very long time. That image is full of emotion and hope. Her wedding is likely the most important day in her life to date. How she looks on that day is a huge deal. I feel an equally huge obligation to try to make that image a reality; even sometimes a little more. My work begins when she picks one of my designs. It ends when she feels as wonderful as she imagined. Scary, but indeed very cool!
Thanks so much to Charles for chatting with us today! If you'd still like to make an appointment for this weekend's trunk show, please give us a call [202.333.6162] or shoot us an email [appointments@hitchedsalon.com].
[All photos courtesy of Anna Maier/Ulla~Maija]
Comments