We started making the first dress in this collection a year ago. We tried, changed, stitched, and re-stitched, tired ourselves out, but finally created an ideal imitation of a bustle (a characteristic silhouette with quite a prominent back of the skirt), which made the dress casually puffy and the posture noticeable. Thus we went deep into the history of dresses of the Romantic era of the 18th century, and the collection became the most magnificent in the history of the brand, combining the luxury of a ball dress and the minimalism of our traditional cut.
The fabric of each dress was dyed specifically to find the right shade and create a subtle halftone game even with the same textures. The layering of shades and textures in the bodices and skirts is done smoothly and gently, but not pretentiously – it is subtle, plain, and imperceptible at first sight.
There are twelve dresses in the collection, some of which are re-made iconic models of our early collections.
We continued to follow the theme of a double-layer dress, which is very close to our style. Even in the Middle Ages, it was customary to put on a petticoat as underwear under the main dress. This is a very feminine and intimate idea when you are the only one to know what is hidden underneath from unwanted looks. Panmure is a dress with its own mood and mystery. The lower shirt is made of floral lace with geometric motifs, which is especially difficult to put into a perfect pattern. The front of the shirt has 80 buttons, hand-laced with a cloth and sewn by hand. The upper dress is visually plain but rich in numerous details, i.e., the wide flapping wings of the sleeves flowing into a reasonably shapeless bodice, a delicately accentuated waist, an open bloused back, and a crew neck gently and mysteriously revealing the collarbones. The design of this laconic dress is completed by the brass belt made from a single piece of metal in full accordance with our sketches.
Cosse is a picture dress with the bodice used as a canvas. The most complex dress in terms of decor selected and collected manually for many months by trial, error, and endless changes.
“I was hand-drawing a flower, watching how I could convey the most different textures of stems and petals. It took me five hours to pin up the first part of the decor: I drew the directions of the branches, adding flowers and petals,” says Katya Sushko, founder and designer of Cathy Telle.
“There is one dress which I saw in a dream. I saw it in the slightest detail. In the morning, I drew a sketch, we made it and I love it. Creating each dress, I first see what the bride should be like by nature, and only then – the final design of the dress.”
The Revived Memories collection is designed for a sweet rebel who lives by her mood but knows how to keep femininity behind her wild temper. It is the choice of the bride who will run around, holding the hem of the dress in her hand, spinning and dancing until dawn, letting all her simple childhood princess dreams come out.
For the campaign shooting, we found the most authentic interior of the Odessa House of Scientists, reflecting the era and way of life of a noble family. The wedding day of the oldest of the four sisters lies in the plot of the photoshoot. The girls are immersed in memories and preparations, sharing secrets, sadness, and dreams, being together as a big and happy family for the last time.
We closed our eyes, listened to music, invented a story, and each frame separately. The Swan Song was playing during the rehearsals until all the pieces of the whole picture finally fell into place.
The most touching shots are the final ones, where the oldest sister appears as the bride with the groom. She is holding a bouquet of tender lilies and greens, her head is covered with a lace veil with a vintage wreath. She is wearing the Noailles dress made of very thin lace without lining. Due to the layered textures, the bodice looks like a thin cobweb. The front of the bodice is high while the back is cut deep. For weeks, we were looking for the matching shades of lilac and coffee for the layers of the skirt, and the chaotic layering was being draped intuitively – it can not be repeated thus each time this dress will be new and unique, hand-made as the inspiration says.
During the shooting, our young heroine opened up and changed; her eyes gained certain femininity and a playful twinkle. She seems to have fallen in love, not by the script, but for real – her emotions are genuine, which was her image when the very first dress of the collection was being made.
Buy the collection of wedding dresses Revived Memories