National Diplomat: Bridal fashion is no longer stuck in a rigid script. Suits, pops of colour, and playful hemlines have waltzed down aisles, yet the image of a blushing princess in a sweeping white gown still lingers like the last note of a slow dance.
On Saturday, Charli XCX rewrote that note. At a tidy East London town hall, the “Brat” musician wed George Daniel, The 1975’s drummer, in a look so clearly her own that the old image seemed to flicker and fade.
The dress, an ivory Vivienne Westwood mini, could have been the dress—its diaphanous layers a nod to couture’s fairy-tale side—yet the blackout bug-eye sunglasses, worn just like she wore them on the Glastonbury stage days earlier, shouted a different script.
Jimmy Choo Amita 95 heels elevated the silhouette, but Charli let the rest rest. No necklace, no bracelet, just the engagement ring and two silver hoops. Her long, raven hair tumbled down her back, a gossamer veil pinned midway. The look felt unembellished and undeniably hers, a confident wink to the traditions she had no interest in carrying.
It took mere minutes for shots from their no-frills ceremony to flood my timeline. On X, I saw Charli and her new husband perched at a sun-dappled terrace table at Dalla, the city’s favourite neighbourhood Italian, wine-drenched orange glasses to their lips, a shared cigarette glowing between them; the familiar neon green of Lime Bikes huddled behind them, the smile of London itself. Within seconds, the post ricocheted through the app: “Just married, cig & drink in hand, sat in front of lime bikes.
The king and queen of east London. Everything is romantic,” a user captioned, and the heart count climbed to 49,000 before I could swipe. “Idk how to explain it, but I love when brides get married looking very much like themselves,” another chimed in. The moment felt like a group hug from the city I call home.
Lately, I’ve watched enough star weddings to know the predictable patterns: tulle, vintage satin, velvet, and the smoky lens of a romantic past. Even the iconoclasts I once idolised have slipped into the dream. The rehearsal, the custom perfume, the diamond-studded veil; runway images of yesterday replayed on a pink satin disco-ball timeline.
In 2019, Zoë Kravitz traded her signature laid-back edge for an Audrey Hepburn-inspired drop-waist Alexander Wang gown, while Paris Hilton, the eternal mini-dress and Juicy Couture symbol, mirrored Grace Kelly’s fairy-tale silhouette for her 2021 wedding. Charli XCX, however, looked exclusively to Charli XCX for inspiration.
Westwood has quietly formed a bridal sanctuary for the fearless; Demi Lovato, Barbara Palvin, Miley Cyrus, and even fictional Carrie Bradshaw slipped into the label’s hand-knit corsets and lace like armor. Charli’s irreverent take, cut and laced to suggest she’s the last party survivor rather than a demure bride, echoed the label’s punk birth.
“People are drawn to Vivienne Westwood because she stands for something,” creative director Andreas Kronthaler said to CNN this year. “She stands for women, and for strength, power, and courage.” Then he added: “The Vivienne Westwood bride is a heroine.”
