Inside Gabriette Bechtel's Final Wedding Dress Fitting with Matières Fécales

Eight Months of Planning

Gabriette says she is very excited to be getting married, though the planning has taken about eight months. She jokes that she and her partner should have just eloped. What she is looking forward to most is her mother seeing the dress for the first time. Bailey describes her own role as "emotional support." Before they go in, Gabriette says she hopes the dress is done, thinks it probably is, and has "faith."

She explains why she chose these designers. She has always loved designers such as McQueen and Matières Fécales, who focus on tailoring and "tell stories through fabric." She describes the label's most recent show as "a full story" and says she felt they were a perfect match for her.

Her mother lists three things she is most excited about. The first is seeing her daughter dressed "as a princess." The second is watching her marry her best friend and "the love of her life." The third is seeing everyone celebrate "this amazing event and true love." Gabriette teases her mother for getting emotional before they have even reached the door. On the way in, she struggles over the cobblestones in very high heels and says she wears the highest heels every time she visits and can never quite make it.

How the Designs Came Together

Inside, the group finds custom shoes, and Gabriette jokes that she will need to build a whole new closet. The designers describe how the collaboration began. Their first conversation took place when she came to Paris. At that stage they were not talking about a wedding dress at all. They discussed her inspirations and what appealed to her in fashion generally, and they say her taste "really aligned" with theirs.

They then drew about 30 looks and circled the elements they liked from each one. The designers describe what followed as a "super organic process."

The Main Gown: Victorian Structure and Hand-Distressed Tulle

The designers describe the main wedding dress in detail. It has a hand-pleated, very finely micro-pleated, sculpted bustier top in a style they call Victorian. It also has bustles and several layers of tulle, all of which were distressed by hand. They say the distressing was one of the longest parts of the process.

When Gabriette sees herself in the mirror, she says it is amazing and calls the sleeves perfect. Her mother and friend call it "stunning" and say everything is perfect. The front hem has been raised slightly so she won't trip. With the veil on, she says she feels like a princess and adds, "That was the goal." She says she is "stunned" and wants to hug everyone.

She explains how her idea of a wedding dress changed over the years. When she was growing up, she imagined a backless silk dress with sleeves that covered her hands, and that vision changed every year. The part that stayed with her was the silhouette. She says she has "always been like basically from Dracula," and that she wanted to be a princess. She was confident the designers could get that silhouette exactly right.

Her partner, Matty, has no idea what the dress looks like. She has shown it to a few people, and whenever he looks at them afterward, they "make a little face," so she thinks his imagination is running wild. Her mother and friend both say they did not expect it to be this perfect and that it has exceeded what they imagined.

The Black Dress: Reworking a Vintage Margiela

The second look began as a vintage Margiela dress from Gabriette's personal archive. The designers say they asked whether she was sure she wanted them to cut it and experiment with it. She was happy for them to reinterpret and reimagine a dress she had kept in her closet for a long time. The group connects it to the old tradition of "something old, something new, something blue," and Gabriette calls this dress her "something old."

During the fitting, someone asks whether some of the tulle at the front should be trimmed. Gabriette says her favorite moment is when Steven picks up the scissors.

She also asks whether bridal clothing always has to be white, and answers herself: "Bridal is whatever you want it to be." She says she has always liked black clothing and that it felt right to repurpose a dress she has loved for so long. Her remark about what a dress for "Friday" would originally have been is unclear in the recording. Her main point is that the dress is black because she loves this particular dress.

One of the designers says Gabriette was the inspiration "at every level." She wanted something along the lines of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and the designers say they are passionate about sculpting the body, so her wishes and their approach lined up.

The Third Look: Hat and Champagne

The last outfit comes with a hat, which the group calls "everyone's favorite thing." Gabriette says she has never touched one of his hats before and jokes that she can't tell what her hat size is. She explains that this is the look for the moment she comes out and it's "time to party," champagne in hand. She sees "a little bit of Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue" in it.

The Proposal

Gabriette also describes the proposal. Friends of theirs had recently gotten engaged, and she told her partner she did not want to be taken up on stage and sung to. Instead, he proposed privately at home. They had just bought a house, and he placed candles all over the empty living room, leaving a small pathway, then got down on one knee. They had to blow the candles out quickly because she thought the house might catch fire. She says it was about 100 degrees inside, but it was perfect.

Closing

Gabriette confirms this is the third of her three looks. She thanks Hannah, Steven, and everyone at Matières Fécales, and says she will see them at the wedding.