Maggie Sottero Designs’ strives to celebrate every shape, size and body type. Pouring care into every garment, they pay close attention to the linings of the garments, incorporating materials that provide stretch, softness, and structure to ensure every bride feels flawless.

We spoke to the team to discuss their latest collection as seen on the Bridal Week London runway:

Where did you look for creative inspiration when designing the pieces?

When creating the Fall 2023 collections, the Maggie Sottero design team drew inspiration from various sources to fuel our creativity. We are inspired by our bride’s love stories and how they choose to celebrate and honour that love. A bride’s dress is a key symbol in all of it. We seek out feedback from brides, both online and in-person, to gain a better understanding of their unique preferences and needs, and we also look to ready-to-wear couture fashion shows. Coupling with the latest trends in the wedding industry builds the foundation of our technical design plan for the season.

Coming from the iconic, bustling city of New York for our Maggie Sottero Spring 2023 collection, we now want to tell the story of a bride who dreams of old-world charm for her love story. The Fall 2023 Maggie Sottero collection is all about the details. So, we connected the artistry of the tilework, the textures of the historic buildings and cobblestone streets, and the pops of colour throughout the city. For the Fall 2023 Sottero and Midgley collection, we want to focus on escaping the city and sailing away on an adventure. This collection is epic and grand, and so is the bride who dreams of being whisked away to bask in sunlit waters and the cool ocean breeze. The Fall 2023 Rebecca Ingram collection was designed to complement the raw beauty of the bride with simple yet striking details that evoke the feeling of natural wonder. This collection is for brides inspired by breath-taking beaches and their romantic, airy and effortless nature.

What was it like seeing the designs come to life on the catwalk?

Seeing the designs come to life on the catwalk is an incredible experience. It’s amazing to be part of the evolution of a design from the initial sketch to the creation of samples to see it on the model. Our designs are created with all brides in mind, considering the latest and most popular bridal trends to ensure they are acclaimed by brides worldwide. The buyers’ excitement, gasps, and applause are all surreal moments that make the experience even more memorable. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Maggie design team and truly an energizing experience to see the impact of all the effort and know that collectively we will make more brides’ dreams a reality!

Can you talk us through the design process for this collection?

At Maggie Sottero, we take pride in creating designs that appeal to brides all over the globe. We organize a special event called "Before The Runway" every season to ensure our designs are well-received in different regions and territories. During this event, we gather feedback from our boutiques to understand what styles resonate well with brides in their respective territories. In addition to Before The Runway, we take our development process on the road and hold events to gather feedback from the brides. We use this feedback to fine-tune our designs and ensure they are catered to the preferences of brides in each region.

What fabrics and materials did you incorporate into these pieces?

When creating the Fall 2023 collections, the Maggie design team incorporated a range of fabrics and materials to achieve the desired aesthetic and functionality. We aimed to balance style and practicality so that our pieces look beautiful and feel good. We focused on using soft satins, brocades, and jacquards to create a sense of opulence and luxury in the garments. However, we also made a conscious effort to prioritize the bride’s comfort and paid close attention to the linings of the garments, incorporating materials that provide stretch, softness, and structure.

Design elements were incorporated that added depth and variety to the overall aesthetic for the Fall 2023 collections. This includes vibrant pops of colour that add energy and liveliness, bold floral prints that add a touch of elegance and sophistication, ruffles that add a playful and romantic feel, bows that add a sense of charm and femininity, minimalist detailing that give a sleek and modern edge, thigh-high slits that create a sense of drama and allure, high necklines to add a sense of refinement and class, and 3D textures to bring depth and dimension.

There is so much pressure for designers to come out with new collections season after season - how do you keep your designs fresh?

At the heart of our design philosophy is the belief that every bride has a unique love story that deserves to be celebrated beautifully and meaningfully. That’s why Maggie Sottero prioritizes understanding our brides’ needs and desires through development events held throughout the year. We engage with brides and their families during these events to better understand their love stories, wedding vision, and overall style preferences. We listen closely to their feedback and take note of the details that are most important to them. From there, we translate this feedback into designs that capture the essence of each bride’s story and reflect their personal style. 

Additionally, we aim to match brides where they are at, offering options for any aesthetic, budget, and timeline.

Our Maggie Sottero label offers striking yet classic styles, on-trend yet unexpected, and the perfect fit for any bride’s love story. Our Sottero and Midgley label offers glamourous and trendy gowns with a refined fashion sense and makes an ultimate one-of-a-kind designer statement. Lastly, our Rebecca Ingram Label is our more affordable label, meeting brides who are more interested in a practical choice than a couture label but don’t want to sacrifice quality or style. Each season, we strive to elevate our labels to cater to our diverse brides’ unique needs and preferences as trends continue to evolve.

Why did you decide to take part/why do you think that the Bridal Week Fashion Shows are important?

The Bridal Week fashion shows provide an excellent platform for Maggie to showcase our latest designs, increase visibility, and connect with our valued partners. We know how important it is for buyers to see products up close and personal to make a more informed buy. Plus, we absolutely love personally connecting with our boutiques. Bringing the bridal industry community together is so very important! It’s also a great networking opportunity with industry professionals and is always valuable for building long-lasting relationships that can lead to potential collaborations, partnerships, and other business opportunities.

Do you have any trend forecasts for the year ahead? What’s going to be popular with brides in 2024?

For fall 2023, the trends the Maggie Sottero collection focused on include clean and sophisticated looks with minimalist details, delicate beading, 3-D floral touches, sexy slits, and dramatic colour. The Sottero and Midgley collection emphasizes the juxtaposition of bold textures and soft laces, statement-making details, from minimalism to maximalism. The Rebecca Ingram collection highlights soft and flowing fabrics that are the perfect mix of bold, sexy, fun, and flirty. This upcoming Spring is light, tonal, fresh, and sexy... wait for it!

Which particular piece are you the most proud of? Can you tell us a little bit about it?

We are most excited about our first-ever blue gown, Juniper by Sottero and Midgley. Juniper is made from light French blue satin and perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the entire collection. Epic, grand, and for a bride who dreams of being whisked away to bask in sunlit waters and the cool ocean breeze.

Click the link below to watch Maggie Sottero Design’s full catwalk: