SILK WHITES

Oscar de la Renta
Karl Lagerfeld for Rosa Clara

Dead white, silk white, off white, cream, ivory. There are so many shades of white but the most basic white is that chalky, natural kind of white only pure silk produces. Made from the cocoons of silkworms, around 2500 B.C. the Chinese discovered and developed the process of weaving it into fabric. China is still the largest producer and exporter of 80% of the world’s silks. Most silk weaves are luxe, opulent and suggest a certain formality ideal for the bridal gown. Tightly woven silks like duchesse satin have a luster and are ideal for structured silhouettes, whereas loosely woven silks like charmeuse and crepe lend themselves to drapery. Choosing the right silk depends on the style of your gown in addition to time of day of day and year your wedding takes place.

Carolina Herrera

Angel Sanchez

How a cloth reflects or absorbs light has a lot to do with the particular weave of a fabric. So what’s a weave you ask? And how is a weave different than the fiber of which it is a part? Every fabric has a certain weave whether it’s a natural fiber, blend or synthetic. Think of the weave as a threading process—warp threads going vertically, weft horizontally. Woven together they can be loose, tight or somewhere in between to produce a certain finish. For example, you hear the word twill all the time. Twill is a type of weave. It’s diagonal actually and can be either silk, cotton or wool. While silk twill generally produces a garment with an entirely different function than that of cotton twill, the weave is similar. The weaves in these two dresses would be looser than the more structured one above which requires a more lush and tight weave.

Left: Ashley Isham at Aquaint Right:Amanda Wakeley Sposa