Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Something Iconic: The Bridal Looks That Still Inspire
From Bianca Jagger’s 1971 YSL tuxedo to Dua Lipa’s custom Schiaparelli, the most memorable brides have always had one thing in common: they dressed entirely like themselves. Here are the bridal looks that proved it…
As summer arrives in full swing, so does wedding season. And this year, it was Dua Lipa who set the tone. When she and Callum Turner officially tied the knot, her dress (or rather, the absence of one) was all anyone could talk about. For the ceremony, Dua stepped away from the traditional bridal gown entirely, choosing instead a custom couture look by Schiaparelli, designed by Daniel Roseberry.
The baby blue skirt suit was architectural in every sense: sculptural tailoring, gold statement buttons, an asymmetric hemline. She finished the look with satin gloves, a dramatic wide-brimmed hat by Stephen Jones, pointed white heels by Christian Louboutin, and a Serpenti Diamond necklace by Bvlgari.
The homage to Bianca Jagger was impossible to miss. Any bride seeking an alternative to the traditional wedding dress will inevitably cross paths with Bianca’s 1971 Yves Saint Laurent two-piece, now one of the most eternal references. Jagger’s bespoke ivory column skirt was paired with Saint Laurent’s iconic Le Smoking jacket, which she wore buttoned, rather than over a blouse, with a matching veiled sun hat and block-heeled, ankle-strapped peep-toes.
What appeared in 1971 to be a daring statement went on to define a more liberated era for an entire generation of women. The kind of bridal look that doesn’t belong to any decade. It belongs to all of them.
So what are the other bridal moments that brides still search, still save, still return to? The ones that live permanently on Pinterest boards and in the back of the mind when dress shopping begins? Let’s take a look.
Grace Kelly: Hollywood Meets Royalty
There is no better place to start than with the (always cited) most elegant and best-remembered bridal gown of all time; the wedding dress of American actress Grace Kelly, worn during her wedding to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
The gown was designed by Helen Rose of MGM. It featured a lace bodice with an attached under-bodice and skirt support, two petticoats, and was completed with a headdress, veil, shoes, and the lace-and-pearl-encrusted prayer book she carried down the aisle. Nearly seven decades later, it remains the ultimate reference for brides who seek an ultra-romantic fairytale gown.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy: The Original Cool Girl Bride
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s wedding dress didn’t just inspire brides, it launched the career of designer Narciso Rodriguez, her colleague at Calvin Klein, and set the template for minimalist bridal dressing that three decades of brides have been chasing ever since.
The white silk slip dress was everything fashion had not yet learned to call bridal: no lace, no volume, no spectacle. Cut on the bias from slinky yet substantial silk, it moved with her rather than around her. She was married in secret, on a small Georgia island, at night. The dress suited the setting perfectly.
Amal Clooney: Modern Glamour, Done Right
Amal has never been someone who needed a dress to make an entrance, but in Venice, in 2014, she wore one that stopped the world anyway. The custom Oscar de la Renta gown was crafted from French lace, hand-embroidered with pearls and glittering diamantés, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a train that cinematically trailed behind her. It doesn’t come much more classic than this.
Kate Moss: Personal, and Therefore Iconic
When Kate Moss married Jamie Hince in 2011, she did what she has always done: made the personal feel iconic. The gown was designed by John Galliano (a deliberate, considered choice), and Moss, a long-time friend and muse, commissioned the dress as an act of loyalty and creative trust.
The dress itself drew on 1920s silhouettes, it was cut on the bias in fine silk and finished with delicate gold embroidery; luminous and unmistakably Kate. It didn’t really look like a wedding dress, it looked like something she was born to wear.
Claudia Schiffer: Quintessentially Valentino
In an era when minimalism was having its moment, Claudia Schiffer went the other way entirely. Her full-length Valentino gown, worn at her 2002 wedding to director Matthew Vaughn, was extremely romantic: sweeping, soft, finished with a delicate floral crown. Schiffer leaned into timeless femininity and the result has inspired brides ever since.
Princess Rajwa of Jordan: A New Kind of Royal Bride
The Elie Saab gown Rajwa Al Saif wore to marry Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan in 2023 reflected a preference for elegance over spectacle. The long-sleeved white design featured a draped bodice, an asymmetric neckline and an embellished train that added detail without overwhelming the silhouette. Paired with a diamond tiara and chandelier earrings, the look felt polished, modern and distinctly regal.
Kate Middleton: Lace and Legacy
The wedding dress worn by Catherine Middleton was one of the most anticipated in modern history, and it certainly delivered. Designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, the ivory satin bodice was padded slightly at the hips, narrowed at the waist, and inspired by the Victorian tradition of corsetry. Floral motifs were cut from lace and hand-appliquéd onto silk tulle. On the back, 58 buttons of gazar and organza were fastened by rouleau loops, while the train measured 270 centimetres. It was, in every sense, a dress designed for the history books.
The thread running through every look on this list isn’t a silhouette, a fabric, or a designer. It’s intention. Each of these women knew exactly who they were when they got dressed that morning, and that clarity is what made each look immortal. The most inspiring thing a bride can wear, perhaps, has always been a sense of self.
Lead Image Courtesy of Instagram/@dualipa