When it comes to fun, flirty 80s-inflected party dresses, few do it better than Danish label Rotate, launched by influencer-editors and best friends Thora Valdimars and Jeanette Madsen in 2018.
Now, the Copenhagen-based label semaphores its brand of maximalist sequined sass into an inaugural bridal collection, which drops today (April 6) just in time for this summer’s triumphant return of mega weddings.
‘Rotate Wedding’ is a 10-piece pearly pick of the brand’s greatest hits, mined from the archives and reworked in white and cream with added details of lace, faux feathers, ruffles and sequins.
“The Rotate bride is rule-breaking, playful, and sexy,” says Valdimars, noting the brand had previously flirted with the category with bridal looks closing its AW19 and AW20 shows, but those pieces never made it onto actual brides. The trigger moment was watching their friend, the influencer Parysatis Peymani, wear the brand’s riched off-the-shoulder white latex mini dress for her Big Day. “It feels amazing to design something for someone’s special moment, and really made us want to create an actual bridal collection.”
With everything from slinky slips to dramatic ruffle collars and tiered mini dresses, the collection has something for every bride – and particularly those looking to do away with convention. “We wanted to do away with some of the stuffiness of bridal fashion; you should be able to take risks and be more playful with your wedding dress.” Madsen’s favourite is the tiered ruffled mini dress first seen it the SS20 collection in orange and black, while Valdimars loves the PU bow mini dress. “It’s fun, sexy, bold and quintessentially Rotate.”
Modern brides typically have a second, less formal dress to change into these days, and as a brand known for cocktail minis and sexy party frocks, Rotate bridal caters well to that dancefloor-destined dress number two. “We wanted to create the dresses you can dance the night away in, which is something we always have in mind when designing our collections,” says Valdimars. “But we hope to inspire brides to break rules and maybe wear a bold mini dress for the ceremony as well– anything goes!”
Post-pandemic, many brides are thinking more sustainably and swerving the wear-once meringue dress in favour of something they can wear again. Rotate’s collection has that front and centre, with slinky slips that would work well on hot holidays post-nuptials and party-ready puff sleeve midis. “Our bridal collection can be dressed up or down and repurposed as a summer look after the wedding,” says Madsen. “There are many of the dresses that we will want to wear ourselves, pairing them with flip flops or flats to dress them down, or just wear them on a night out.”
Their advice for finding the perfect dress? “We always say: think back to the last time you felt amazing in a dress or an outfit and think about what made you feel that way. And then look for that in your wedding dress. If you’re not a gown girl, wear a shorter dress. If you don’t like ruffles and tulle, choose a more minimalistic dress with a simple cut. Find those details that make you feel confident and sexy and go for that.”
