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Hollywood’s red carpet has long inspired bridal designer prodigy Andrew Kwon, who debuts this September at NYFW Spring/Summer 2023. In his sunlit atelier, Slash, in his apartment, he revisits important childhood memories, watching Nicole’s revolutionary 2004 Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial starring Kidman. increase. (Still staggering he cost $33 million, Moulin rouge When Elvis According to visionary Baz Luhrmann, the ad is more like a two-minute movie experience. )
“I remember a very tall blonde woman,” says the still-enchanted 26-year-old, perched on a pristine white sofa surrounded by stunning views of midtown Manhattan. The short film opens with Kidman running away from the red carpet paparazzi as a world-famous superstar. With the voluminous feathered train of her celestial ball gown swirling behind her, she returns to her celebrity career after a brawl with a handsome Normie played by Rodrigo Santoro. She walked another red carpet in a sophisticated black gown with long diamond pendants dangling in a deep plunge back.
“I was so attached to things that seemed unattainable,” Kwon said, recalling the emotional imprint that resulted. “It was just another world.”
The drama and power of Hollywood’s red carpet also influenced Kwon throughout his formative college years, as demonstrated by Kidman’s evocative arc in a glamorous commercial. After internships at celebrity mainstays Marchesa and Vera Wang, the Parsons alumnus had ambitions to break into the fashion industry with his line. However, thanks to the pandemic, Kwon has “pivoted” his vision to Bridal instead of making his April 2021 debut. Athleisure-weary editors (and the public), thirsty for joy and unabashed charm, responded enthusiastically to this line, dubbed “reminiscence.”
“There was a tulle cape that was pretty dramatic,” says Kwon. Fluttering floral embellishments, intricate corsets, sumptuous silks and romantic drapes evoke the awe and exhilaration Kwon felt watching Kidman in Chanel’s fifth commercial. I introduced my favorite “Red His Carpet Compatible Train”. His sophomore collection, The Dreamer, continued to shake up the conventional bridal landscape with his play of pistachio green, buttercream his yellow and Mediterranean blue colors inspired by his international travels.
“Walking down the aisle is really a red carpet moment,” Kwon regularly tells clients. Hence his Hollywood-inspired wedding designs, like the jumpsuits in his first collection (dreamy floral appliqués and draping his tulle cape train), and his colorful ruffled tiered gowns in red. It’s no surprise that it graced the carpet and glossy edit pages of .
Partly due to Kwon’s sincere charm, determination, and media savvy, he organically developed his own celebrity support network. Thank you), he introduced himself to mega-influencer Olivia Palermo. “My father-in-law and mother-in-law always told me, ‘It’s very rare when you go to those kinds of events. If you meet, in any way, just say hello. “I always thought so too.”
He also reveals his celebrity clientele fantasies with the help of good old social media. Emily in Paris Star Ashley Park, Kwon took a chance and slipped into her DM.Intrigued, she stopped by one of the bridal trunk shows at Bergdorf Goodman to post.Park’s friend and Netflix star partner track, Arden Cho found an IG story and contacted Kwon directly. The result: Cho was featured in May 2022 in a green tulle ruffled wedding dress from the Dreamer collection. new york magazineThe Cut of — and she gave him shout out on twitter.
“Thanks to Instagram, it would be a very different story without Instagram,” says Kwon. He also sees his carpet moments as a way to reach out to young AAPI creatives and inspire them to pursue careers. in art and fashion design. “I grew up watching the red carpet, so I know its power,” he says.
Kwon also credits a combination of persistence and chance to land the famous Bergdorf Goodman as his first retailer. After being CC’d in an email, Kingmaker and her SVP of fashion and store presentation Linda Fargo connected Kwon to her Bridal Salon. “I was still a one-man team,” says Kwon. He had his friends help him carry the entire collection, and had the show’s manager, Nara Ragimov, do a test run at the trunk show. “There are a lot of pieces on the bridal floor now,” says Kwon. Soon after, he called Neiman his Marcus flagship bridal his salon and landed a second luxury retailer. “I asked to speak to a manager and they actually connected to me,” he says with a laugh.
It’s late August 2022 and Kwon is preparing his first eveningwear collection for New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023. It is his first dream come true. For encouragement and inspiration, his YouTube video of opera singers Andrea Bocelli and Katherine Jenkins performing “I Believe” plays repeatedly in the background. Music continues to be another of his essential influences in his work, thanks to his mother, a professional-level pianist, and his “biggest muse,” Hye Yong Pyo.
Still, the long-lasting childhood impressions of Hollywood’s red carpet are what made Kwon his established for an evening wear debut of 18 looks featuring innovative technology, sumptuous fabrics, and red-carpet-ready embellishments. It helps us push our vision further. “I want to throw a really big punch!” he says.
In middle school, Kwon took his first flight from his native Colorado to the storied Los Angeles. The aerial view of the city grid and winding highways soon aroused wonder and imagination in him. “Those geometric lines and city lights say, ‘Oh! “My first flight was the City of Angels, the charm of Hollywood, red carpet…”
Illustrating his sketches with gorgeous, tactile swatches, he pointed to 3D glitter in rose gold and silver to create a honeycomb-like pattern. “I keep imagining that this was when I was looking down [from the plane] We went through the clouds and saw the twinkle of city lights,” says Kwon, who created the collection at his longtime studio in New York City’s Garment District.
He layered “crushed gold brocade” over exquisite, delicate lace, corseted and off-the-shoulder cocktail dresses. Kwon explains that the metallic texture is hand-milled to create a dynamic foil effect. “It’s hanging [existing fabrics] And really own it and create this luxury,” he says.
The influence of Kidman’s mini-movie finale moment is evident through a long-sleeved black velvet gown with a seductive portrait in the background. I’m in. More diamond-like crystals line the cuff, “like a tennis bracelet,” says Kwon. The collection features more luxe elements such as Italian guipure lace, crystal-influenced tulle, and gradient sequins, as well as the macramé-like weave of Misty Rose’s cape trench dress and the bouffant statement sleeves of his gown. Features ombre laces. “These are actually painted on watercolor flowers,” Kwon explains, presenting a lush, painterly pattern of blues, greens, and golds.
And yes, Kwon offers a bridal version of her evening wear like a black asymmetrical high-low ball gown with a velvet corset top and extravagant layers of tulle ruffles. gigantic’ he says.
Kwon’s use of shiny metallics, sculptural silhouettes, expressive layers and 3D trinkets also reflects his holistic (and strategic) view of the red carpet. “I’m always trying to imagine what it looks like when the light hits it. I’m always imagining other photos,” says Kwon, considering the viral glamor moment that went viral on Instagram.
“That’s what I always had in my head [when considering] We look at fabric choices and some of the lighter fabrics and how they’re carried by the wind as they go away,” says Kwon. Like running off a red carpet.