How It Feels To Get Into A Vivienne Westwood Bridal Gown

The day of my late September appointment at the Vivienne Westwood’s showroom in Milan arrived with its amount of joy and expectation: a 10 a.m. Sunday morning appointment, somehow dreamy in Milan, when it is still warm and sunny, but the city has already begun to wear its autumnal attire. In the car, while driving to Corso Venezia, I could look at the Milanese stately going out for a late breakfast with family or friends, and I enjoyed the luxury of being perfectly happy as I was admiring the general splendour of the city and its inhabitants.

The moment I arrived at Vivienne Westwood’s, I was welcomed by the showroom’s general manager, Cesare, who made me feel immediately welcome. It wasn’t about what he said, we actually hadn’t to talk a lot. Now that I know him better, I can say that he is a natural at that. You never feel wrong with him. He is profoundly kind and delicate, he knows immediately how to meet your desire. He asked very little about the date and the venue of the wedding, then showed me the gowns without naming them, just for the pleasure of seeing all the Vivienne Westwood bridal gowns together at once, when all the shadows of white, and all the laces, the breathtaking fabrics dance together to compose a dreamy moment you would always carry with you for the rest of your life. That was the moment of all possibilities. I named the dress of the picture I was there for: the Nova Cora Lace. He went for it, helped me to get into it and accompanied me to the mirror glass. The feeling was the best I could have ever imagined because it wasn’t loud, not even emotional, just solemn, profound. I felt the best I could be and after a few seconds of silence, I looked up in the mirror and I saw behind my shoulder Cesare slightly smiling at me. Two lovely young women from the prêt-à-porter side of the showroom were also looking towards us silently. They were moved. That community of perfectly unknown-to-each-other people somehow linked by an aesthetic emotion aroused from my first time in a bridal gown is engraved in my most beautiful pre-wedding memories. It was magical.

I asked for the white top hat I went there for, but Cesare told me that it wasn’t for sale. I thought of a bridal veil, which came in the perfect proportions. It fell just below my waist and let see the movement of the dress and the details of the lace fabric. We decided to add short gloves with a Swarovski silver fringe — so 30s! —, the golden broken pearls necklace and earrings, while I was still barefoot on an altar before the mirror glass. Cesare looked at my feet, we were rapidly thinking of a solution, then I said: — it must be loudly Vivienne Westwood! That made him laugh. Walking through the showroom I had seen the Britney Platform gold heels. I tried them and felt on the top of the world. Finally, there I stood, happy in my bridal look.

Francesca Manzari