Last week I had the pleasure to sit down with Minneapolis-based designer Tara LaTour. We could have chatted for hours (our topics ranged from boy bands to politics, but I’ll spare you those details.) She’s kind, funny, humble, and brings a unique aesthetic to the bridal industry. Her collection is new to town thanks to A&Be’s recently opened digs in the Design District and I was excited to get to know her and the collection. It’s chock full of fashion-forward pieces (think: crop tops, cut outs, and color) that are expertly constructed using luxurious fabrics. Read on to find out more about the designer and the collection.
Ryan: Tell me about your background and education.
Tara LaTour: I went to school for fashion at Parsons [School of Design]. I’m educated in a few areas but that’s where I landed and finished. I have a degree in fashion and I really always wanted to do wedding gowns. Even when I was there, my senior thesis was wedding gowns. But my definition of wedding gowns is really different. I’m not saying that I don’t design in the realm of what the majority of brides are looking for, but when I think of a wedding dress my first thought is color. Then I translate to ivory. I have many different influences but that’s where I start. I love that there is another voice out there for people who want something that is untraditional, something different, or something unique (or whatever that key word is that is not what every girl is wearing right now).
R: So you would describe your line as untraditional?
T: It really is, but we have traditional pieces. For example, this dress [holds up dress]. The way we structure is so traditional that it goes back to a really old-school way of constructing, but then the dress has pockets. The traditional comes in the simplicity with its shape and then the details are different like an exposed zipper or hand-braided strap.
Our fabrics are some of the finest silks in the world. Everything is 100 percent silk so you can feel the difference in quality the second you pick it up. We believe in structure and we believe in producing things that are very well-made and speak to the craftsmanship of this industry.
Crop tops have become on trend but we were the first to show it. So we usually start in a more trendy place for our more fashion-forward pieces and we’ve had a lot of people follow us which is great. We have some dresses that use fringe which is super untraditional and on-trend. The bridal industry is a little slow on picking up trends. We are in line with the fashion world or we are completely opposite. Right now there are some trends that are going back to simplicity and we will see if we see that in bridal.
R: Do you have a bride in mind when you are designing?
T: That is probably one of the hardest questions to answer but at the same time I know very specifically who she is. She likes a nod to vintage but she’s also very modern. She is what happens when those two worlds merge. She is someone who really likes good fabric, fine detail, and quality pieces made in the U.S.
R: And just because it’s trendy doesn’t mean it’s not well-made.
T: Definitely. I know we do have a little bit of that because of how we wear our clothes today. It’s on trend and then it’s garbage. Whereas a lot of clothes I make are all about quality and longevity. These will last forever. The fabrics will not yellow because they are really fine fabrics so they stand the test of time.
R: The fit is the most important part because it leads the way. If it doesn’t fit it’s never going to look right.
T: I am not going to put you in a dress that makes your boobs look bad. Why wouldn’t you want to take ten pounds off because the structure is all in the right place?
Ryan: Where did you learn to do the construction of the gown?
T: At school. The basic of all construction I learned there, but some of it is about experimenting and being in the studio and patterning. You have to have strong patterning skills in order to make a pattern that can stand up to that.
R: So you make all of your own patterns?
T: Yes definitely. That’s my favorite part.
R: Do you feel your designs fit the Dallas bride?
T: This is our first time in Dallas so I don’t know yet. I’m sure there is our bride in every city. I know they exist here and this is a bit of an experiment in our price point ($5,000 – $8,000) in this setting.
R:Looking forward to your next collection, what are some of the trends we are going to see?
T: I am excited about the idea of simplicity done in a different way.
R: What do you mean by simplicity?
T: Details being a little more simplistic. Whenever you have a trend that is over saturated and we don’t know where to go next, it always bounces back to something very simplistic to go forward into a new trend. A few years ago that’s where our line went because we were seeing texture on top of texture on top of stuff and it just got to the point where it was so overwhelming. We had gone too far with a trend and we were so over saturating it that we couldn’t have possibly put more on a dress. I feel like we are there. I’m excited to experiment with what that fresh look of simplicity looks like. I would still like to see brides continue to wear color because it’s a way to individualize yourself.
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