MODERN GODDESS
If you see someone standing in front of a boutique window, scribbling in a notebook, it might be Liana Mirzadeh. Calling her a seamstress is like calling Picasso a painter; Liana Mirzadeh is an artist.
She takes notepads everywhere she goes (most of the time, but will use napkins if she leaves them at home!), and creates her distinctive style with inspiration from some of the most unlikely places: the colors around her at local ethnic markets, textures in a store window display, intricate hand-embroidery in traditional Indian dresses, the delicate hand-beading in vintage gowns and even wall art in a car wash in L.A. Her craft is creating the stuff of fairytales: handmade bridal gowns fit for a goddess.
“Each bride is unique,” the designer says, and she adds that she designs dresses that are so varied, most brides will find some- thing that is exactly what she’s been dreaming of.
Autumn Silk wedding gowns are sold in three separate collections: “Signature,” for traditional and modern brides, “Modest,” for those who would like more coverage than some gowns offer, and “Luxury,” ball gowns simply dripping in lace and embroidery that the bride who has always imagined wearing a wedding dress fit for a princess will swoon over.
Using top-quality materials, Liana Mirzadeh especially enjoys working with lace, chiffon and luxury lace. She promises that this year’s collections will be even more over-the-top than her previous, and you can hear in her description of her work that this is an artist who enjoys and derives great personal satisfaction from her work. That satisfaction is passed on to her customers, of course, since the gowns they fall in love with were born in the mind of an artist, sometimes, quite literally, in her dreams.
That’s right: sometimes Liana Mirzadeh wakes up to find her- self sketching a dress design in the middle of the night. But don’t picture her in front of a sewing machine and sketch pad all the time, because this designer is constantly getting ideas from the world around her.
“My addiction is to go to Little India in Cerritos,” she says, “where I search for beautiful textiles, crafts and jewelry made by artisans who still carry on the traditions and skills of their ancestors. I love to talk to people who work there. They can go for hours explaining how their garment-construction process works. Some outfits take 10 months to make and others, a few hours. One day I’m planning to visit India.”
Designing vintage-inspired gowns is something she also en- joys, and it shows. She tries to incorporate old, discarded or forgotten bits of vintage needlework, using intricate hand-embroidery, beads and crystals.
This designer isn’t stuck in the past, though; she draws from it with her incredible eye for detail, and it certainly infuses many of her designs. She is anything but old-fashioned, however, and creates modern looks with equal skill.
A study in delightfully-varied contrasts, Liana Mirzadeh says, “I also love modern and contemporary architecture, home design, and art. I try to incorporate a modern structure and feel to my design.”
She goes on to talk about the inspiration she found in a car wash in Little Korea, LA: “I saw the most beautiful wall art in the car wash! Who knew? One day I’m planning to do a photo shoot there. It might sound crazy, but I want to see outside of the box, and create something very untraditional.”
A savvy designer, Liana Mirzadeh also keeps her finger on the pulse of bridal fashion trends. Her description of what the current trends in bridalwear are as eclectic as her style: ballgown-style dresses with big tulle skirts, as well as some some simple, classic styles without lots of beading. She says shoulder details are in, and that she finds the illusion back trend in bridal gowns both sexy and demure.
When asked about her plans for the future of Autumn Silk, the talented dress designer explains that she will continue to create magical wedding dresses. She also spoke about the bold new direction she is taking: a new line of clothing called Autumn Silk, designed for real women who should, as she says, “feel like a goddess every day, not just at the wedding.”
A bright, Bohemian-inspired collection, this new line is also almost 100% silk, and each dress is one-of-a-kind or limited editions, and Liana Mirzadeh assures, “You don’t have to be a model to wear it.”
Every garment is handmade with hand-woven and hand-printed fabric, a type of garment creation Liana Mirzadeh calls a disappearing art. She is excited about this new line, she says, because she can see real women wearing her designs while enjoying honeymoons, vacationing or just relaxing around the house.
