The Story Behind Lena Dunham’s 3 Wedding Gowns

Lena Dunham asked Christopher Kane a — somewhat unusual — question a few months ago via text message. “She said, ‘By the way, I’m getting married and I want you to wear a dress. “I was like, it’s not happening, but yeah, absolutely,” Kane said on Zoom two days after Dunham married musician Luis Felber in an intimate ceremony at the Union Club in London’s Soho neighbourhood. . “I didn’t know she was seeing someone.” They don’t have much time; Their first try was two and a half weeks before the wedding. But they had a common vision.

“You know what? Kane said we came up with the same idea. “I know she loves the ’60s and she’s been looking at brides like Sharon Tate, June Carter Cash and Priscilla Presley. There’s also something about the world of Holy Communion, even though she’s Jewish. For me, growing up in Scotland, that was a big deal. Your Communion and the perfect little dress. It’s strange that the kids are wearing these bridal outfits. We like that subversive world. That’s what Lena also loves. ”

The dress Dunham wore to the ceremony, the first of three, was tied to this subversive plot. However, if you don’t know it, you will only see the bride. “When she first walked out of the room there, people were really amazed. They literally stood back and cried,” said the British designer, who befriended Dunham after dressing her for the Met gala in 2019; She and Jemima Kirke attended the “Camp” themed event with Kane, wearing mini skirts that read Rubberist and Looner, with rubber gloves.

When Kane met Dunham for the first time at her house, he created many dresses for her to try on. He thinks they will need options. “When you’re a bride, they think they know what they want, but then they go against it,” Kane said. “So you have to be prepared for all these options. Lena knows what she wants and she won’t change her mind. She tried and that was it. That’s one of those. The dress was modeled on pattern 54 from his fall 2019 show, with Kane’s signature lace sleeves and cupcake skirt (which looks dramatically puffy thanks to the multiple layers of organza and crinoline). , white shoes and a floor-length veil studded with a small bow, Dunham’s appearance, as Kane puts it, was “almost a doll.” Her grandmother’s watch was sewn into the organza fabric of the dress: a thing. something blue.She wears her mother’s Art Deco earrings and a pendant made from one of her grandmother’s earrings as a necklace.

When Dunham tried on the dress for the first time, Kane said she immediately shouted a phrase that was not suitable for print. “She cried and danced and danced,” he recalls. “She was like, ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am. “I love seeing that moment when you try it on and you’re like, ‘That’s it. But since she was already in Kane’s studio, and they had all of these model dresses available, Kane suggested she try on a few more. They decided to add two more dresses to the lineup: one for dinner and one for dancing.

The second dress was patterned in style 42 from Kane’s spring 2018 collection, a voluminous layered long dress that sits flat in Gloria Swanson’s wardrobe. The front has intricate embroidery, almost like an antique mirror, and the sleeves are slit. Dunham paired it with a Dolecka Bridal tiara, like broken glass put together into a tiara. For her final evening outfit, she wore an A-line dress with an abstract painting by Kane of Dunham and Felber. “I wrote on it Lena and Lu and their wedding date,” he said. “It was a wedding gift from me to them.”