Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Your Favorite Jewish Bridal Designers Are Reimagining The Traditional Wedding Gown

With more and more millenial women opting out of marriage, you would think wedding gowns are a thing of the past. But this year’s New York Bridal Week, proved that bridalwear is still as relevant as ever. There is no better way to demonstrate the affect a white floor-length dress has on the usual observer, even if they’re not in the market for a wedding gown, other than at the bridal couture runways.

After attending the shows of Jewish designers Galia Lahav, Gracy Accad, and Morilee by Madeline Gardner, it became clear that sparkle, white, and everything nice will always remain timeless. But some trends caught us by complete surprise — take a peek at all of the edgy details below.

A Midsummer Night’s Sleeve:

By nature, bridal gowns tend to exude a quality of romanticism. But this season in particular, Galia Lahav gave praise to hopeless romantics with an array of complimenting necklines and billowy 18th century sleeves. Your significant other may be a dream come true, but have you seen these Shakespearean-like gowns? Now you can finally tell your friends and family that you’ve found the one.

Image by Galia Lahav

Lace Into Spring:

We’ve seen lace worn on the runway before, but never quite like this. From dreamy high-neck tops and sweetheart necklines, to diamond-shaped back cutouts and botanical inspired embellishments — every ethereal lace iteration imaginable could be seen in Madeline Gardner’s designs. Her catwalk turned secret garden felt like stepping into Gan Eden — pure and angelic.

Morilee by Madeline Gardner Image by Madeline Gardner

Morilee by Madeline Gardner

Morilee by Madeline Gardner

The Unconventional Bride:

Gracy Accad’s designs are not for the faint-of-heart. They’re for the brazen woman who wants to opt out of wearing a traditional wedding gown in favor of a lace jumpsuit or a mid-calf length dress. They’re for the bride who doesn’t want to wear a dragging veil, but a cape that sweeps the floor with a no-nonsense attitude. A variety of the budding designer’s looks are practical: one gown offers the luxury of pockets. If you’re not afraid to dance your pants (or gown) off all night long, then one of these casual bridal styles will give you comfort and grace to glide across the dance floor on your big day.

View this post on Instagram

Untraditional ?‍♀️

A post shared by Gracy Accad (@gracyaccad) on

Gracy Accad FW19

Bonnie Azoulay is a Lifestyle intern at the Forward.

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.