AND THE INSTAGRAM BRIDE WORE DIOR COUTURE
WHEN INFLUENCER and entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni – she of 14 million Instagram followers and the original fashion blogger – first started planning her wedding to Italian rapper Fedez (which happened in Noto, Sicily last weekend), she was determined she didn’t want a traditional wedding dress. But, of course, if there’s one house that can get even the most modern of brides into a fairy-tale gown, it’s Dior.
‘At the beginning, I felt I wanted more of an evening dress, specifically one that I loved from [artistic director] Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first collection for Dior,’ Chiara explains. But Maria Grazia had other ideas. ‘[She] thought we could realise a modern yet classical wedding dress without losing my contemporary identity.’
The result was a gown that’s equal parts demure and dramatic, all full tulle skirt and fitted lace bodice. Taking 400 metres of fabric and 1,600 hours of work at the couture house’s Parisian atelier, the design referenced southern Italian craftsmanship ( particularly crocheting), a nod to the bride’s Italian heritage. ‘Maria Grazia and I met several times,’ Chiara says of the process. ‘ The first time was just the two of us, but each time after that somebody new was added as it took a whole team to produce my dresses.’ For the evening part of the ceremony, a ballgown was created with personal touches woven throughout the design, like lyrics from Favorisca I Sentimenti [ My Feelings For You], written and performed by Fedez when he proposed to Chiara during his concert. There was also a drawing of a small lion to symbolise their son, Leone. This highly personal design is testament to the close relationship the two women forged during the design process. ‘I feel like we have a close bond,’ says Chiara. ‘ We are women at different stages of our working and personal lives, but we share the same values and passion for empowering young girls.’ ‘ This point of encounter between a modern empowered woman and a traditionally feminine practice is the one embodied by Chiara, in her being a role model for a new kind of female,’ says Maria Grazia. ‘One who is not limited by her femininity, but welcomes it as a new-found strength.’ Indeed, despite the
unabashed, romantic classicism of Chiara’s wedding dresses, she remains at heart a modern bride. Even for Chiara – probably the world’s biggest and most powerful influencer since founding her blog, The Blonde Salad – nearly a decade ago, having a couture wedding gown is a privilege afforded to a tiny few. Equally, for one of Paris’s most legendary houses to bestow this honour on social media’s queen bee marks a watershed moment between influencers and establishment. ‘ When I started out 10 years ago, I had so many dreams, and this was definitely one of them,’ says Chiara. ‘I’m loving this journey and I can’t wait to see what happens next.’