Jackson Wiederhoeft knows more than a thing or two about crafting a head-turning, megawatt gown and body-hugging corset.
Over the past year alone, Wiederhoeft has dressed the likes of Danielle Brooks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Margot Robbie, and even designed the Wasp corset and knotted overskirt wedding gown worn by Sydney Sweeney in “Euphoria”’s finale season. But outside of celebrity, the designer has garnered a strong bridal business, which women all over the world are purchasing for their special day.
“This season, especially with [showing] one collection a year, I really wanted to honor what the clients are looking for — it was more of a business decision. I do want to circle back on all the embroidered hoodies and denim in the future, but in the meantime, this is really performing for us, so I wanted to honor our queens,” Wiederhoeft explained backstage of his stunning spring collection, which smartly focused on eveningwear and bridal fare.
A fan of theatrics, the designer put on a short performance-meets-runway within the New York Live Arts venue featuring a giant head statue, said to be modeled after brand muse Danielle Mareka; sci-fi-like “Statue Watchers” donning head-to-toe shirred gray ensembles, and a storyline that played on “generations of past, present and future.” Although Wiederhoeft “nerded out on the project” — show notes included bibliography pages of research — the show and collection were said to be two different concepts.
“I designed the world and then designed a collection for these people,” Wiederhoeft said, pushing the collection into more feminine and girly territory. Showing now once a year, he pushed fabrications and embroideries to the next level, traveling to India this past summer for development that resulted in corseted looks overlaid with Vienna Chantilly lace and tulle with hand-embroideries or lush 3D florals crafted of cut bead and metal sequins, to name two.
Wiederhoeft’s off-white double-faced silk satin tulip corset, hand-embroidered with ivory glass cut beads and irregular pearls wrapped in silk tulle with matching floor-length fluted skirt would make any eye in a wedding crowd shed a tear from its beauty, while the mini corseted salon dress with playful crystal fringes in an Art Nouveau floral made for the ultimate after-party dress. Elsewhere, a handful of black lace ensembles channeled vampy romance while a burnout velvet dress displayed a softer side of his craft, offering something for each of his individual clients.
