When Australian fashion designer Marina Afonina, of the label Albus Lumen, was asked by a close friend to create a look for her wedding, she took to the task with relish.

“She asked me to create a look for her for her special day, which ended up being a silk suit with shorts. She wanted to look effortless, understated, but at the same time chic and classic – all the essentials of the Albus Lumen women,” says Afonina. The timing turned out to be spot on.

Just a few months later, Afonina was approached by luxury online retailer Matches Fashion to create a capsule collection for its new bridal section, The Wedding Edit. A curation of 30 bespoke collections and 250 unique pieces from brands, it spotlights designers including Brock Collection, Cecilie Bahnsen, Emilia Wickstead, The Attico, Jacquemus, that are relevant for the fashion-forward bride.

The influence of celebrities such as Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner, who wore a Bevza jumpsuit for her Las Vegas wedding to Joe Jonas (she later wore Louis Vuitton for her main ceremony in France), growing consciousness of the environment (who wants a dress you only wear once?), and the fact that many brides don’t want to look, well, bridey, has meant retailers and designers have had to rethink their bridal offerings. The notion of buying a wedding dress online is a shift in the bridal fashion industry.

Natalie Kingham, fashion and buying director at Matches Fashion, says women are definitely thinking differently about weddings and dressing up. “The perception of dressing for events and weddings is evolving and we wanted to make it easy for our customers to find these looks in the one curation,” she says.

The mood board for the project included Paula Yates and Danish model Emma Leth, who married in 2018 wearing a lace dress and statement hat from Jacquemus. Bianca Jagger’s white satin YSL suit, worn to her wedding to Mick Jagger in 1971, remains the gold standard for getting hitched in style.

“For many women when it comes to weddings and events, they want to wear something that feels unique and they know they are going to love for years to come. We have seen so much evolution in how the modern bride dresses – not just thinking about what she will wear for the actual wedding, but for the night before, the after-party,” says Kingham.

“For each, she might pick a different mood – a classic silhouette from Vivienne Westwood or Erdem for the day, or a sequinned Halpern mini or Paco Rabanne chain dress for the evening. I think we will continue to see this inspire how women buy.”

Afonina sees her bridal capsule collection, which includes a trouser and short suit option, as well as four dress styles in silk satin and silk crinkle, as an extension of her main line, albeit more luxurious. The collection was inspired by Parisian architecture and the sculptures of Rodin (“lots of magic and ethereal love in his work”).

Online retailer Net-a-Porter is also catering to fashion-forward, as well as stylish and environmentally conscious brides.

“Our brides are taking a more considered approach to style. Investment dresses mean that brides are shopping more responsibly, purchasing outfits to celebrate now, as well as for years to come,” says Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at Net-a-Porter.

“Supporting brands with sustainable credentials is also increasingly important to both Net-a-Porter and the Net-a-Porter customer, which is why, when buying, we often look at pieces we love on the runway and think about whether they will translate beautifully in white,” she says.

“These end up being ready-to-wear styles that can be worn beyond the wedding day, and can also appeal to a wider customer [base]– not only brides to be.”

Top-selling brands in the retailer’s bridal category include Rime Arodaky, Galvan, Needle & Thread, Halston, and Self Portrait.

Michael Grant, senior buyer for ready-to-wear at Moda Operandi, says its bridal category has experienced a huge shift in recent years.

“The Moda bride has changed drastically in the past couple of seasons. She really is the true ‘fashion bride’, [and] takes wedding inspiration from the ready-to-wear runway collections. If she is looking for her ceremony gown from us she is choosing a white look from Loewe or Giambattista Valli,” he says.

While the site has success with more classic bridal styles from the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, brands such as Johanna Ortiz, Brandon Maxwell and Danielle Frankel are also go-tos.

“The bridal industry is really going through a metamorphosis at the moment,” says Grant, “the biggest trend being the ‘non bridal bride’. She doesn't want to do the department store circuit or the bridal boutique circuit. She wants to be modern and unexpected.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Brides-to-be look beyond tradition for the big day

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