Ten years ago, all the designers came together in a central location where retailers saw all the collections together, and to be honest, it was quite overwhelming. Today’s Bridal Market is staged all over Manhattan with each designer and hosting their fashion show at different times and locations.
We typically take three team members to the four day Bridal Week. We all go to same shows so we can get everyone’s perspective. We need to know how team members who see our brides daily think and feel about the options. There’s also a good chance we will have dinner with several of the designers, giving us the unique opportunity to get in their heads about future trends and find out what they are hearing from future brides. Nothing is better than getting the upcoming fashion trend information directly from the source.
This year our team ran to London at 9am to see 2 or 3 designers and then dashed off to an afternoon appointment at The Piers off West Side Highway at 1pm to see a few more. From there, they went to a designers loft at 5pm, and then off at 7pm to a designer showroom to watch another fashion show. Is it worth it, you ask. Absolutely! The White Room is committed to providing the very best selection for our brides, and that means seeing the latest selection in person rather than ordering out of a catalog, making the NYC Bridal Market a must. It’s impossible to know what the finished product will be like if you can’t see, feel or touch the fabric or see it on the model. We make sure to bring our walking shoes!
After the shows have concluded, the hardest part begins. We’ve seen so many dresses and we love almost all of them, but can’t get them all. Today’s designers are constantly improving on already beautiful designs, making eliminations even more difficult . This is where teamwork is essential! Once we get back to our show room, we create a war room of sorts by posting dress photos on the wall with each designer helping the team decide what works best.
We can’t wait for you to see the decisions we’ve made. Plan to come by The White Room and see us soon.