A giant art installation that looks like garment conveyor belts with wedding dresses hanging welcomes Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, outside Hall 1 of Fira de Barcelona. Its director, Albasarí Caro, emphasized on Wednesday, at the opening, that the idea is to bring bridal fashion to the streets, since access to the fair is only for professionals.
Barcelona goes bridal, the title of the artistic installation created by La Fura dels Baus, has aroused the interest of visitors and the curious. 30 dresses travel 100 meters of circular ribbon six meters above the ground. In the five days of Bridal, a total of 150 dresses from 41 Catalan firms will be hung.
The surroundings of the Fair are an anthill for buyers, designers, journalists or influencers from all over the world, since the Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week is an international benchmark: 21,500 visitors in 2023. Proof of this is that Giambattista Valli presented yesterday the his bridal line for 2025 at Bridal Night, as Elie Saab did last year.
Of the almost 400 brands that have presented their collections for 2025 at Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, the most important, 37, have done so on the catwalk, the biggest showcase for trends in bridal fashion .
The 2025 season will be absolutely floral. Dresses, blouses, skirts, capes, coats and tails with flowers in embroidery, in 3D, rebrodé, sculpted or inlaid. The femininity of classic lines is reinvented by reinterpreting them with contemporary touches, for a romantic, independent bride who is clear about what she wants and values the details.
Today's brides are clear about what they want, which is why there are as many bridal styles as there are women: from classic to sophisticated, through minimalist or boho. And although in magazines celebrities usually wear two dresses (one for the ceremony and one for the banquet), in real life (without sponsorships) brides prefer to choose a single dress, but one that can be transformed.
According to the proposals of designers and firms, in 2025 there will be an abundance of two- or three-piece wedding dresses, and very wide trousers. The feminine silhouette is highlighted, with dresses without straps, transparencies, draping or pleating. The waist is marked by giving volume to the skirt and with the corset visible.
The fabrics are luxurious such as silk mikado, chatilly lace, crepe in the most sculptural volumes. And in the more fluid or ethereal designs, organdy, satin, silk or bamboo is used. Material combinations, such as the contrast between heavy bodies and ultralight fabrics, add dynamism. As an example, dressed in denim (Yolancris) or neoprene (Isabel Sanchis).
As for the color palette, white takes center stage, with various shades: mother-of-pearl, ivory and nuanced with a range of beige, nude or pink, almost imperceptible. It is also sought to illuminate the bride with fabrics woven with shiny threads, crystals, sequins or metallic applications.
But beyond the trends, each brand has its own personality: "We continue to bet on brightness, camellia white and halter necks in different versions", says Merche Segarra, designer of Jesús Peiró. Sophie et Voilà continues with its minimalist style, although according to designer Sofía Arribas "it is evolving". An architect by profession, she admits that "in the workshop I still use more architectural terms than sewing". And about the controversy that affected her last year when she broke her engagement with Tamara Falcó to design her wedding dress, she says conclusively: "From all that I learned that you have to be true to yourself".
Isabel Sanchis and her daughter Paula are loyal to their brand, which is present on many red carpets: "Our bridal designs arise from party designs, because the bride is inspired by what she sees in magazines", they comment both, and they add that wedding white is increasingly being imposed on red carpets as well. Yolanda Pérez, from Yolancris, who next year will be 20 years with her firm, reveals that with each collection "I feel more pressure". The firm that brought the boho style to the altars admits that after many firms signed up to that trend, it wanted to leave it, "but brides keep asking me for it, and therefore I have sophisticated it".
In 2025 accessories will be very important. Veils, gloves, pamelas, headbands and jewels were seen on the catwalk. And also on the Bridal poster, created with artificial intelligence, with a model covered in handbags.
