Kiran's Sari-Inspired Wedding Dress, Part 1: East meets West

Ok, so this is a little teaser for all of those interested in the Sari-Inspired wedding dress I am currently making. I can't show you too much, as I think it is only fair that the wedding guests see the final dress before the rest of the world!, but I wanted to show you the work involved in this design and all the handmade touches that go with it!

This dress is for a lady I have known ever since I started selling at Paddington Markets- over four years ago! Kiran, the bride, is one of my best customers, and I don't usually make wedding dresses, but for her, I was happy to do it. She always asks for something special and different, and through out the years we have grown to understand each others aesthetic, and more importantly, have become friends. I knew that she was going to want something completely different, and I couldn't wait to get started!


As Kiran is Indian-Australian, the first thing I said to her is that we should include the cultural influence. The above drawings is a rough idea of what the design has started out as. As the title of this posting implies, we wanted to keep an even mix of Eastern and Western cultures alive in this design; so we have a western-style corset dress, and as she walks down the aisle, we will have a gorgeous train/overskirt made from the Sari (pictured below).


After a while of searching for the perfect fabric, Kiran showed me this beautiful Sari that her Mum and herself had picked out. I was thrilled straight away! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love over-the-top decadence, so it was really exciting to be able to work with something such as this!



We decided that the plain bright pink silk dupion would be used for the corset dress, as this colour ties in with the beading, and really highlights Kiran's complexion. The navy blue silk chiffon sari will be used in making the over-skirt. The leftover beading/pieces of the sari will be used for decoration.


I generally get images/visions in my mind when I am really into a particular design (it sounds weird, I know, but I have no idea how else to describe it). Every time I envisaged this design, I could see the pink silk added to the over-skirt hem, and constructed into really interesting shapes that would add detail and interest to the back. As we had discussed, most guests would have a view of the back of her dress throughout the whole ceremony, so we wanted to make the back a feature.

The above and below photos show the toile (or prototype) of the dress, with the over skirt attached. Imagine wherever the white fabric is, that is where bright pink silk will be; wherever the black is, that represents the sari.




The above picture is the corset dress toile, so imagine this in bright pink silk.

As you can see, there is a lot more to go on this design. I will be updating this design as I proceed further, in the next few months- so stay tuned!

Take a look at PART 2 here!

Take a look at some of my other designs here:

Photographer Milena Dekic from “I Love Wednesdays”: An Interview

Last week, I sent a newsletter to my mailing list, and it included the following interview ( I have also placed more of her photos in this blog post)...To join the mailing list of Penelope Red, email me: designer@penelopered.com.au, and just let me know you would like to subscribe.

Please note, all of the photos taken in this posting were taken by Milena from I Love Wednesdays.

One of the great things about working in this industry, is the chance to work with brilliant and talented people. Milena Dekic from “I Love Wednesdays” is one of the inspiring and very talented people whom I have had the pleasure of working with recently. She was the photographer who created the beautiful images below:

The Cherry Red Bolero

The Tokyo Sydney Catsuit

The Paris Bow Top

The Barcelona Corset

I thought you would all enjoy to read a little about Milena’s work....

1. What inspires you?

I think the only way I can really answer that question without answering "everything!" is to tell you that I love stories. Stories have a way of weaving themselves into your being. Everyone has a story; whether it is good, bad, funny, indifferent, filled with silliness; everyone has a story. My job as a photographer is to capture that story, and I am grateful for it every day. Sometimes I get to create my own story and other times I get to be a part of other people's; to document intimate moments that are only really shared with closest family and friends. To be let into other people's lives and their stories and see them unfold, really, how could you not be inspired?


2. How did you start in this profession?

I didn't really think that being a creative as something that I could do as a job, it was always something that I just loved to do. I've drawn from the time I could hold a pencil and taken photos from the time my parents would let me play with the camera. Deciding that this was something I wanted to pursue as a career was really surreal. I didn't do art at school, but I applied for a scholarship to design college anyway and I honestly don't know what they saw in the exam that I sat, but I got accepted. I will never forget one of my favourite teacher's reactions when I told her, "well, that makes sense, the back of your essays are always covered in drawings," considering she had me for history, it's rather telling.

My professional start was as a Junior Designer for a photography and design studio. I didn't really know what I was getting myself in to and I really couldn't believe that someone was going to pay me to be creative. I ended up being the Senior Designer and Retoucher and was involved with every photo shoot that the studio did. I think back on it and how absolutely crazy it was to go from uni and not knowing anything to running projects from beginning to end and liaising with clients.



3. What projects are you working on?

At the moment, I'm working on a photo shoot for a new clothing label, a collaborative photo shoot with a fantastic make-up artist, design projects for a couple of IT companies, a few wedding album designs, scouting locations for upcoming engagement & wedding location photos and a few personal projects I've got in the works. It sounds rather crazier than it actually is.

4. What are your aims and ideas for the future?

Continue doing what I'm doing and what I love. I'm moving more and more to doing weddings, which I am so grateful for, because it encompasses everything that I'm passionate about; photography, design and stories. I think I'm really lucky that I get to share the celebration of two people in love, and it is awesome to get to be a part of all of it.





If you are planning a wedding, or know of someone who is, and you are in Sydney, then Milena could help to capture your wonderful day! You can contact Milena at I Love Wednesdays on the following: