Emma Yates Collection – Westbourne
Australian Born, New York made by Emma Yates
This collection began with an infatuation with bridal wear from growing up with parents who were never married, but still managed to go through a tumultuous divorce. These experiences strengthened my beliefs in bonds, unions, relationships and marriage, and I wanted to honor these ideals in this collection. In 2014 I moved to New York City, and since then, I have realized that my biggest relationship is with NSW land and my family who live there. Because of this, I worked with my neighbors (in Berremangra, NSW) Stephanie Corkhill-Hyles and Richard Hyles to source my wool. Everything in this collection comes from the earth including; silk thread and linings, wooden buttons and beads, chicken feathers from my family property, wool, and leather. Every piece is designed to be self dressing so that the bride is able to commit to herself through her process of dress, before she makes the commitment to someone else. I designed all my pieces as separates so that the bride is more easily able to customize her wedding day outfit, and so that certain pieces can be re-worn to events surrounding and after the wedding day. Through this process I hope to modernize bridal traditions and redefine what it means to be a bride.
Photographer: Damien Ford
Designer: Emma Yates
Hair & makeup: Tri-Anh Nguyen @ The Agency to Makeup Artists
Farm of Stephanie Corkhill and Richard Hyles
Model: Tia Pichlerr @ Chadwick Models
About the designer – Emma Yates
Emma Yates is an Australian born, New York based designer who specializes in unconventional bridal wear. She draws much of her inspiration from her childhood where she spent much of her time in the Australian outback. Emma is passionate about supporting Australian farmers and directly sources all of her raw materials from farms in the Hilltops region, before processing them and creating looks for the modern bride.
Emma has worked alongside a number of industry leaders including receiving sponsorships from Swarovski and Sophie Hallette for her Fall/Winter 2018 collection.
Emma is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Parsons The New School for Design, majoring in Fashion design, and specializing in systems design and bridal design. She is also completing her Bachelor of Arts at Eugene Lang, The New School for Liberal Arts, majoring in media and communications for artists.