It is an outdated thought that a wedding is purely about the bride. Yes, a few decades ago the bride might have taken it upon herself to organise the venue, send out invitations, finesse the catering, write the vows, book the photographer and have an exceptional dress made, while her husband-to-be simply slapped on a black suit and showed up on time; but that isn’t the case any more. In modern weddings, the groom often has as much to do with the process as his future wife, including putting a comparable amount of effort into cultivating a particularly special suit for the day. A suit that truly captures the gravitas of the occasion.
One person who knows this better than most is Edward von Dadelszen who, under his eponymous label, has created some of the most exquisite, bespoke wedding suits for grooms seeking to take their wedding-day attire to the next level. Really, Dadelszen’s work in this realm is tantamount only to luxury labels operating at the top of their game overseas, despite the fact that the whole process is based out of his beautiful Parnell showroom. “We really do offer the best in market for a complete wedding outcome, bar none,” Dadelszen explains, “our clients would previously have gone abroad to organise their wedding attire so being able to see them locally gives much more certainty and takes a lot of the logistical stress away.”
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And while Dadelszen (the brand) is predominantly known for its collections of exquisite mens and womens ready-to-wear (made using the finest European textiles and by some of the best makers overseas), its founder explains that venturing into weddings has been enormously rewarding. “It’s a huge privilege to have our clients and friends of the brand dressed in Dadelszen on such a momentous occasion,” Dadelszen tells me, “it makes me incredibly proud.”
Here, we sit down with Dadelszen, who explains why his offering is truly unlike anything else, and gives insight into the process behind the incredible suiting that came out of his showroom last wedding season. Ultimately, Dadelszen’s meticulous approach proves why bespoke groom attire is on the rise. When done well, it can be almost as showstopping as any white gown.
In your opinion, why is it important for men to be purposeful and creative when it comes to their wedding-day attire?
I think there are many reasons why, but most importantly it’s about respect, both for yourself and especially for your partner. Brides put an extraordinary amount of time, thought and energy into their wedding attire, so the very least a groom can do is try and do the same. But it’s also an opportunity to really take pride in yourself and wear something special that elevates you and empowers you to feel your best as well. It doesn’t need to be about wearing something shouty — a beautifully cut, understated garment that flatters you perfectly can be absolutely transformational. A dark suit can look like a suit of armour or a sack of potatoes, it’s all down to how it’s cut and how it fits the wearer. And fundamentally, all eyes will be on you at your wedding so if you don’t want to look astonishingly good for that, then when?
Tell me about your process of creating a bespoke Dadelszen wedding suit.
Everything takes place at our showroom in Parnell. We work almost exclusively by appointment as a business, simply because we like to be able to take our time with people and have them feel relaxed and like they’re the absolute centre of our attention. Our job is to understand a client’s vision for their wedding and craft an outfit for them that embodies that vision whilst making the client look their absolute best. There’s a lot of trust being put on you, so we’re pretty rigorous when it comes to getting everything absolutely right. The make process can take a couple of months and we’re often involved right up to the wedding day, helping with last-minute bits of styling. There’s always something. Personal tailoring has a bit of a stigma of being a very intimidating, fussy process but once clients find us and have the chance to experience the showroom and our product and how we operate as a contemporary alternative, they realise we’re not like that at all. We make a beautiful product and we offer peerless service, but the process of having something made with us is also very easy and fun (if our clients are to be believed).
What makes Daddelszen’s bespoke wedding service unique from others of its kind?
We can offer a level of make that’s pretty unique on an international level, let alone domestically, and that does translate directly into how good the clothing feels to wear. An incredible amount of time has gone into getting that right at a construction level. We’re also a young brand with a much more contemporary vision for tailoring. Rather than doing things the English way or the Italian way, we’ve developed a handwriting that’s unique and frankly a bit more fun. Easy-wearing, elegant, timeless, a little bit brash. Good clothes to be bad in, as the saying goes.
What styles are trending for weddings at the moment?
On a macro level, fashion is swinging back around to our way of thinking — timeless luxury, premium materials and really rigorous craftsmanship over busyness and excessive ornamentation. That extends to the wedding sector. Lots of couples are looking to nail something that feels timeless and chic rather than gimmicky. In practice, for grooms, that means a lot of very elegant evening wear (tuxedos, velvet, and so on). Luckily, these are all things we’re pretty handy with.
Tell me about some of your favourite custom Dadelszen suits you’ve created for grooms.
We recently dressed the wedding party of a close friend of the brand in beautiful navy shawl-lapel tuxedos, with the groom himself in a show stopping off-white cashmere smoking jacket. It brought the house down.
What advice do you have for future grooms thinking about their big day?
Creating a bespoke wedding suit can be a slower, more intense process than other kinds of personal tailoring, often with partners involved and many people to dress. My best advice is always to start as early as possible. Cutting and construction can take six to eight weeks and with multiple people to wrangle for various fittings, you’re better to make it easy on yourself and build some flexibility into your timeline. It’ll be one less thing to worry about as you approach your big day.
