Slade Roff had more than art on her mind when she attended the 2018 Senior Show at Moore. She was looking for someone to design her wedding dress.
"I happened to spark up a conversation with Verity (Gordon '18) about her collection," said Roff, who is assistant to the dean of students and works in Moore's Student Affairs office. Roff was impressed with the quality of the construction of the golden ball gown Gordon had on display in The Galleries at Moore for the show.
"I told Verity I was interested in having a Moore student design my dress, and I could instantly see her eyes light up," Roff said. After a few preliminary conversations and sketches, Roff felt confident Gordon could do the custom work.
GETTING TO WORK
Roff knew the silhouette and style of what she wanted her dream dress to look like.
"I was looking for a dress more on the simple side that was somewhat 1950s-inspired," she said. She wanted a shorter dress for her petite figure, had a specific sleeve length in mind, and chose a neckline by going through Gordon's past designs.
"I chose a shorter dress mostly because I love to dance," said Roff. "I felt as though a long dress just wouldn't make sense for my size, or my personality!" Roff said. Gordon also had the "brilliant idea" to incorporate tiny blue beads interwoven with the lace to add a pop of color.
Gordon created a structured tea-length dress with illusion half-length sleeves and a geometric sweetheart neckline. The fabric is British-imported polyester satic in a warm beige with cream illusion mesh on the bodice and sleeves. The white and silver floral lace is hand-sewn and customized with ice-blue beading. The covered buttons and button holes down the back of the dress are hand-crafted. The dress took nine months to complete, from first sketches until final fitting.
MAGICAL
Roff debuted her custom dress at her wedding to Jeff Parker May 25 in Philadelphia.
"Wearing the dress on the big day was incredible," Roff said. "It felt magical!"
Roff recently had the dress cleaned and preserved.
"Perhaps, someday, if I have a daughter, she might be interested in wearing the dress on her wedding day," Roff said. "At least, I hope!"
"Slade is my first bridal commission since I have graduated from Moore, and several other brides-to-be have expressed interest in my work," Gordon said. "I am honored that Slade chose me out of all the other talented designers from my major." Gordon has some major projects coming out soon. See more of her work on Facebook and Instagram.
