My mother worked for more than 15 years in the wedding guild. In particular, in several wedding dress shops. And of the memories I keep from so many afternoons in those shops, on the way back from school or high school, the most powerful is the vision of thick green velvet curtains that open like those of a stage and start puking from the dressing room to a mother, a mother-in-law, two sisters, a sister-in-law, three cousins, the yaya, two friends, the tata, a pregnant girl, a teenage girl in uniform, the godmother and, of course, the bride. And my mother, the last one, exhausted after testing the latter all the dresses in the store and listening to the opposing opinions of the entourage.
Almost 40 years have passed since then, fashion has changed countless times, but weddings continue (last year they were held in Spain 90,416 according to INE data) and wedding dresses as well. There is no rite without myth, they say, but the truth is that the increase in civil weddings (last year accounted for 90% of the total) has not prevented the wedding ritual, which includes among its peak moments the purchase of the wedding dress, from preserving an iron health.
And there are things that Don't change. "we have never had a boyfriend here accompanying the bride to try on a dress. Some to pick it up, nothing more, "says Alexandra Valero, the favorite wedding designer of what we might call 'alternative jet', a high bourgeoisie that tunes to values such as naturality, simplicity, authenticity, which spends the same money as the other on the wedding, but skipping the conventional liturgy, also on clothing. And in the shopping protocol: "there are girlfriends who come alone, they Don't want to be conditioned, they only show up with their mother in the end, when everything is decided."
For that bride "very related to the world of creativity, who always has very clear what she wants and who seeks something unique, special", Alexandra Valero is God. It sells-starting at 5,000 euros if the dress is 100% tailor-made-for all of Spain, but it does not lack customers in Australia, the United States, England, France... "although word of mouth has helped us, the truth is that Instagram is what makes the difference. It's an incredible springboard. Its impact is so great that it sometimes gives vertigo, "he wonders.
How this Everest of blondness has climbed and lace this Madrileña who works shoulder to shoulder with her mother, Concha Hernández, has an intimate relationship with a specific dress: that of her own wedding. "I studied design, I grew up with fashion at home (her mother has worked for 25 years in the sector) and I have lived very closely the importance of caring for detail. I started at Inditex and after a while I realized that I wanted to do exclusive things, to which I could spend time without being conditioned by the price. Although some friends asked me as a favor to make them their wedding dress, the atelier's origin was at my own wedding in 2013. I made the dress and a very nice celebration that was published in several places, and they started asking me for dresses. So we said, maybe it's time to get into this. And to this day. "
Until today... With that kind of rare parenthesis that coronavirus has caused (45% of weddings fell compared to the previous year in 2020). "the truth is that I am overgrateful to our girlfriends and I get excited [start shaking her voice] when I remember how badly they had it, and how we tried to make their dreams come true. We wanted to join you at such a hard time. Many lost loved ones; or they had to park their weddings; or they cancelled them a few days after the celebration. They came here and said to me, "never mind, make me dream."
The matter with which these dreams are made is more than special: "we use unconventional materials in these kinds of dresses: linens, cotton, knitting fabrics …. We also love to recover old pieces, lace, embroidery, and give them a second life [shows me one of the boxes where he keeps treasures found in antiquaries, some so brief in size that they will only serve to make a pair of fists] ».
The universe of Alexandra Valero is "both romantic and undisturbed, sophisticated and rustic". And very recognizable. "because identity is very important to us. We do not make one more dress. We make one to take care of, pamper, who already hung on a hanger speak for himself and think: this dress takes me to the world of Alexandra Valero ».
- Pero ese vestido, el resultado final, ¿cuánto tiene del mundo de Alejandra Valero y cuánto de la propia novia?
- Yo diría que un 50-50. Pero por el hecho de que lo más importante es que la novia sea ella misma. Por eso antes de empezar tenemos una larga entrevista con ella donde le pedimos que nos cuente sus gustos, la ropa con la que mejor se ve, su idea del vestido... Necesitamos conocerla, porque sobre una hoja en blanco las probabilidades son infinitas y así no se puede crear. Toda la información que nos da se convierte en un punto de partida. Después reinterpretamos, arriesgamos, apostamos, lo llevamos a nuestro terreno. Ese es nuestro trabajo.
And it doesn't end, practically, until the very day of the wedding. The process usually starts a year earlier, when the bride usually makes the first contact. "but what is strictly the creation process starts seven to nine months before the event, when you close the sketch. From what you measure until you deliver six months. "
- Eso sí: nada de blanco.
- Jajaja, aquí no. Es una de nuestras señas de identidad. No usamos el blanco óptico. Todos nuestros tejidos son tintados con tintes naturales y tendemos al marfil y los tonos beis.
- Y al margen de tu estilo, tan marcado, ¿podemos hablar de alguna tendencia marcada?
- Se lleva todo. Te piden desde la cola larga más clásica (pero eso sí, que luego se desmonte) hasta un tipo de vestido mucho más cómodo. Colas más cortas. La gente tiene muchas ganas de pasárselo bien después de lo que venimos arrastrando.
- O sea, que la tendencia de usar dos vestidos de novia, uno para la ceremonia y otro para el festejo, anda de capa caída.
- Es una tendencia... en la entrevista. Muchas novias vienen pensando en eso. Pero luego ven la complicación que supone, o nosotras las hacemos reflexionar sobre el hecho de que ese vestido solo se lo van a poner un día y que deberían disfrutarlo con la máxima intensidad, sin pensar en si te tienes que cambiar o... También depende del tipo de boda. El cambio puede ser adecuado si se trata de una boda muy larga. Pero cambiar por cambiar, no estamos de acuerdo.
- ¿Qué te horroriza en un vestido de novia?
- Que esté sobrecargado. Hay una línea muy finita entre hacer algo muy especial y trabajado, que es lo que hacemos, y pasarte de rosca.
- ¿Has tenido que disuadir de algo?
- Sí. Las novias muchas veces sueñan con un mundo, pero a lo mejor no se han visto vestidas de arriba abajo en ese mundo. Y de repente aparecen con un zapato más arriesgado o de un color que te haría desviar la atención del vestido... Somos muy sinceras y si algo no nos gusta lo vamos a decir.
- ¿El velo ha muerto?
- No. De hecho, para nosotras ni ha muerto ni morirá. Amamos el velo. Yo fui totalmente velada en 2013, cuando nadie lo hacía porque se veía como algo antiguo... Pero es un elemento mágico, lleno de misterio, y a nivel estético nos encanta.
- ¿El largo sigue mandando?
- Sí, pero el midi también está ahí.
- ¿El toque romántico es un elemento irrenunciable en tus vestidos?
- El toque romántico se trabaja en el detalle. Hay una línea entre lo romántico y lo cursi que yo nunca traspasaría.
- ¿Cuánto cuesta un vestido de Alejandra Valero?
- Los cien por cien a medida, a partir de 5.000 euros. También tenemos una línea de colección, que es nuestro mundo expresado a través de unas piezas ya confeccionadas, a partir de 3.500 euros. Son igual de trabajados, pero en base a algo previamente existente, no se hacen desde cero. Y podemos personalizarlos.
- La ostentación no está de moda.
- No. Nuestra novia no es ostentosa. Es elegante, y ve las cosas como nosotras: menos es más.
According to the criteria of
The Trust Project
