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46 <strong>Style</strong> | Weddings<br />
Designer gowns<br />
While she’s well-known around New Zealand for her signature seasonal fashion collections,<br />
Dunedin fashion designer Tanya Carlson also does a line in stunning bridal attire.<br />
Interview Josie Steenhart<br />
When did you start designing bridal, and how many<br />
wedding dresses have you created to date?<br />
I started designing bridal when I first opened my madeto-measure<br />
business in Dunedin in the early 90s. I vividly<br />
remember the first wedding dress I ever designed – a<br />
strapless white velvet column dress with a matching silk<br />
georgette hooded cape.<br />
Over the years I’ve designed countless wedding dresses,<br />
but each one has been memorable and unique. It was<br />
incredibly special bringing the dresses together for the<br />
exhibition ‘Not All White’ held at Dunedin Public Art<br />
Gallery during the 15th anniversary of iD Dunedin Fashion<br />
Week in 2<strong>01</strong>4.<br />
They were arranged in the space on ten cuisenaire rod<br />
platforms designed by Michael Parekōwhai, and, as the name<br />
suggests, there were ivory dresses but also dresses in pink,<br />
green velvet and red lace. It was pretty amazing seeing them<br />
all together.<br />
What have been a few of the most memorable and why?<br />
It’s difficult because they’re all so special and I feel extremely<br />
privileged to be involved in someone’s special day but I’ll<br />
choose a few.<br />
My friend Bronwyn, who married another friend Josh<br />
Kronfeld, in an island wedding. She wore an exquisite<br />
backless, form-fitting dress in transparent lace.<br />
My fabulous work wife Cara’s Spanish-inspired dress, which<br />
involved 16m of raspberry-coloured silk.<br />
And I’d have to include my collaboration with Kathmandu<br />
to create Adapt, the one-off all-weather/all-terrain wedding<br />
dress made of GORE-TEX for an April Fool’s Day joke one<br />
year, while also raising money for charity. Strangely, the<br />
fabric reminded me a bit of old-fashioned taffeta. It featured<br />
7m of GORE-TEX cut and draped in a continuous line,<br />
creating a classic silhouette with minimal seams. It also had<br />
a train that transformed into a cape with hood plus large<br />
storage pockets for carrying flowers, first-aid kits or bottles<br />
of water.<br />
You recently designed Lisa Carrington’s wedding dress,<br />
what can you tell us about that?<br />
I’ve dressed Lisa for years, and I’ve always loved working with<br />
her. We began talking about her dress while she was in MIQ<br />
having just returned from the Tokyo Olympics. It was a real<br />
collaboration – Lisa wanted a dress that would make her<br />
“feel like herself”.<br />
ABOVE: Left: Tanya in her workroom; Right: Lisa Carrington wearing a Tanya Carlson-designed wedding dress. Photo: Andrea Stephens Photography
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