Knocking off the royal wedding gowns
Shala Moradi, lead designer at Faviana fashion house, positions a finished copy of the royal wedding gown worn by Kate Middleton. The fashion house said the gown will retail for about $1,800. (May 2, 2011) Credit: AP
Royal wedding?
Over.
Royal wedding dress knockoffs?
Oh, they've only just begun.
If you thought there was a frenzy about the royal wedding, well, the seismic aftermath is all about the dresses -- from Kate Middleton's two regal bridal gowns by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen to sister Pippa's maid of honor slither and her saucy emerald green Alice Temperley number for the evening reception. Women WANT them, and dress manufacturers, only too happy to oblige, have worked at a breakneck pace to, um, "re-create" the dresses.
JS Collection's Duchess Wedding Gown can be ordered this moment at Nordstrom.com, but you'll have to wait until September to get it. Andrew Hops, vice president of JS Collection, says, "We knew Kate's gown would be what all future brides in the world would want to wear, so we started to drape as soon as she got out of the car." The $698 gown features a corseted bodice, full pleated skirt, lacy long sleeves and a low scalloped V-neckline. A sample of Pippa's dress will be ready today, selling for $220, available at the end of August. "It's a great sexy wedding dress," says Hops.
Knockoff king Alan B. Schwartz of A.B.S. thinks this may be the "most-sought-after" dress he's ever done because of its wearability. "If I had to rate it between 1 to 10 I would a have given her a 50," said Schwartz, whose dress will sell for $900 and be available in June. "It was simple, elegant and sexy ... and it will be good for size 2 to a size 14."
At fancy dress resource Faviana, where "replicas" of dresses seen on the red carpet and elsewhere are made at lightning speed, prototypes are done and dresses will be in stores in the next eight to 10 weeks, ranging from $1,800 for the lace wedding gown to $320 for Pippa's green dress done in chiffon.
Faviana lead designer Shala Moradi, who hails from Long Island, watched the wedding on TV and hopped on the LIRR to get to her office to sketch. She says of Kate's dress, "This is going to be the No. 1 dress for the bridal line."
Even high-end wedding resource Kleinfeld in Manhattan has a Kate dress. The store's exclusive designers, Michelle and Henry Roth, sketched the dress as the wedding unfolded, says owner Mara Urshel, who believes the real thing may have cost around $100,000. "Ours is going to be about $3,700." Pricier than other knockoffs, this version features high-quality lace and even has the subtle pink lining of the original.
As for accessories, QVC is doing gangbuster business with a $40 take on the sapphire engagement ring, and shoppers will be able to pre-order a Kenneth Jay Lane costume version of Kate's lovely diamond drop earrings -- a wedding gift from her parents.
