Imagine telling the wives of the four England footballers who got married last week about the traditional Chinese practice of renting bridal gowns – and imagine the horror. Renting a venue is one thing, but how can a woman rent a gown for one of the most important days of her life?
Simple. Greater China is mostly non-Christian, and what westerners think of as the wedding gown is only worn for picture taking. According to local celebrity designer Dorian Ho, a traditional Chinese wedding would involve one gown that could be a bridal gown for the ceremony, another for the reception, another for tossing the bouquet, yet another for dancing, and finally one for seeing guests off. In addition, says Carolyn Chow, partner and general manager of Central Weddings and Occasions in Hong Kong: “The average Hong Kongese lives in a small flat and if she buys a wedding dress, there is no room for storage. It is also more important to wear a cheongsam or qi pao. The wedding dress is not important so they don’t see any reason for spending much on it.”
Or rather, they didn’t. Recently, women in Hong Kong and Singapore have started to buy high-quality designer gowns. “A large part of the HK population is open to western culture and familiar with international brands,” says Chow. “We are seeing a trend towards slimmer and fewer gowns,” agrees Ho.
When Chow started looking for a gown to wear to her own wedding, she couldn’t find anything in Hong Kong that was on a par with what she saw as a student in America. Four years ago, she opened Chimes, her first bridal business endeavour.
“I was lucky to be able to start relationships with Carolina Herrera and Badgley Mischka, who were very interested in expanding into Asia,” says Chow. Now her shop also holds exclusive Asian rights to Oscar de la Renta, Monique L’Huillier, Kumari and Reem Acra. Meanwhile, Vera Wang in Asia is exclusive to The Link Wedding in Singapore.
Whole bridal packages are “not much cheaper than having something made for you that is beautiful and well done,” says Chow, whose gowns start at HKD 50,000 (£3,330), including local fittings. Ho, whose gowns start at HKD 20,000 (£1,300), adds: “More fashion-conscious brides like to manifest their individuality.”
Meanwhile, a smaller segment of mainland Chinese women have been flying to Hong Kong and Singapore for western-style wedding gowns. The Link Wedding estimates their mainland business at “10 per cent and growing steadily”. Chow also attributes about 10 per cent of Central Weddings’ market to the mainland. Having done very little publicity for gowns that cost over a year’s pay for some, most customers come through referrals. “They may not be western educated but I suspect they follow fashion trends and buy luxury goods,” says Chow. “They make decisions quickly and pay right away.”
Gifts change too
It’s not just Chinese wedding dresses that are changing; the classic bridal jewellery and gifts are also evolving. At the usual pre-wedding tea ceremony, the mother-in-law used to present the bride with 24-carat gold bracelets. These days, it may be bangles embossed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, or Hello Kitty and her husband, Daniel.
“The traditions are still practised, but we have to modernise our designs,” explains Emily Li, brand general manager of Chow Sang Sang in Hong Kong. The 73-year old jewellery chain has the licence to produce 24-carat gold Disney and Sanrio characters, and all manufacturing is done in China.
