Amsale, Wedding Dress Designer, Dishes On Owning 3 Bridal Labels

Couture bridal designer Amsale Aberra is best known as the creative force behind her signature collection, Amsale. But the Ethiopian-born designer is also the creative director of well-loved bridal labels Kenneth Pool and Christos.

Aberra presented the Fall 2013 collections for each of her lines Saturday during New York's Bridal Market -- each markedly different.

HuffPost Weddings spoke to the designer about her triad of bridal lines after the Fall 2013 presentation.

What was the inspiration for each of your collections?

Let’s start with Christos -- I think with this collection, I wanted to make sure it was very lightweight, very airy. I really wanted to give [brides] some kind of coverage, but in a very sheer way; just a sheer illusion, lace applique, so delicate it’s almost like it’s painted on them. So that lightness was so important to me. With Kenneth Pool, it needed to be so couture, so grand, and [I wanted to make sure] that the shapes had that presence. We showed a lot of beading --Kenneth Pool is known for its beading. When I design Kenneth Pool, there’s that balance between sophistication and then it doesn’t go too far -- that combination is very important. Amsale is going to be very clean -- very metropolitan, very New York. Simple, but interesting. It’s almost like I went back to my roots – when did I start, why did I start, why did I decide to make wedding dresses, and it always had to do with that simplicity, that classic yet modern feel to it.

Why did you start designing wedding dresses?

My wedding, literally! This was 1985, so when you get engaged, you buy a magazine for inspiration and it’s all mermaid ... kind of stuff. So I just said, ‘Wait a minute, what do people do when they want something simple?’ I wasn't a bridal designer... [but] I made my own dress, and then right after my wedding I said, ‘Wait a minute, what about [other] people who want something like this?’

What are the biggest trends you’re seeing right now?

Having some kind of sleeve, something on the shoulder. At least in my collection, that’s what I really wanted to show. ‘Trend’ is always a very tricky thing for me answer, I know it’s important to say it, but I also want to make sure that I do design wedding dresses. If it is too trendy, people are going to be bored with it in a year, so there’s always that balance. I’d like to keep that as a trend.

Click through the slideshow below to see photos from the Amsale, Kenneth Pool and Christos runway shows. Photos courtesy of The Amsale Group.

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