A week of hype and a few official photographs later, former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton's Vera Wang wedding dress, as well as Hillary Clinton's Mother of the Bride Oscar de la Renta gown are being cloned by A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz.
Chelsea's strapless, crystal-belted ball gown was elegant and spectacular, living up to the collective expectation of what the "closest-thing-to-a-royal-bride" would look like and providing a model that brides would naturally want to emulate. But, we still can't help but ask the question...seriously? Celebrity weddings (or, say, Oscar wins) seem to plant a certain seed of desire among the masses on their own most-special occasions, when they, themselves have the chance to play a celebrity for the day.
Ivanka Trump was another bride whose conservative, lace-sleeved Vera Wang gown—itself inspired by Grace Kelly, the actress-turned-princess—launched a multitide of imitations and knock-offs. Perhaps Kelly was the genesis of this modern madness around celebrity wedding dresses; she did, after all, make the fantasy come true.
But while Trump's dress was very clearly its own design, merely inspired by Kelly's gown, A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz's creations tend to veer closer to replicas of the originals, which we're assuming will be the case with the forthcoming Clinton gowns.
So, what's the final verdict? The proper homage to a beautiful dress, or a disingenuous coattail ride on an inevitable moneymaker? We'd love to know what the designers think.
