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Simply
Sensational
The name Amsale has become synonymous
with understated modern classic elegance.
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by
ROMY de COURTAY |
Amsale
Aberra in her studio. |
Amsale’s
elegant Madison Avenue bridal boutique. |
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Left to right: Kim Basinger, Halle Berry and Lucy Liu
grace the Golden Globe Awards in Amsale evening wear. |
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| Amsale’s
elegant Madison Avenue bridal boutique. |
You
could stage a wedding in couture designer Amsale Aberra’s
flagship boutique at 625 Madison Avenue, in New York City.
With its dark mahogany floors offset by bright white walls
lined with framed portraits of elegant brides (each wearing
a vintage Amsale creation), white recessed overhead lights,
and white-leather chairs, the 5,000-square-foot modular space
designed by architect Steve E. Blatz and the late Chuck Frew,
an interior designer, would make a perfect urban backdrop
for a modern-day bride. And, in fact, the 50ish Amsale (pronounced
Ahm-sah’-leh) does use it to stage fashion shows and
parties. But the real purpose of the beautiful salon is to
play host to Amsale’s shimmering wedding dresses and
richly hued evening gowns and separates.
You’ve seen her creations on cinematic brides such as
Julia Roberts in The Runaway Bride and Lisa Kudrow in Analyze
This — Amsale’s wedding gowns have reportedly
been featured in more movies than any other designer —
and on stars such as Kim Basinger, Vanessa Williams and Lynn
Redgrave as they glide down the red carpet at Hollywood awards
shows. Yet nothing in the privileged background of the soft-spoken
politician’s daughter growing up in Addis Ababa prepared
her for a fashion career. “In Ethiopia, there are no
fashion designers,” states the doe-eyed beauty. “Clothes
are imported from Europe or custom-made by seamstresses. It
is not a respected profession.” So frowned upon was
it, indeed, that when the fledgling seven-year-old designer
cut up one of her dresses to make a whole new outfit of its
remains, she “got into big trouble” with her mother.
It
took a revolution and the political imprisonment of her father
Aberra Moltot, then Ethiopia’s vice-minister for National
Community Development, to change the course of Amsale’s
heretofore uneventful life. Suddenly without resources, the
young woman completed her freshman year in commercial art
at Vermont’s Green Mountain College and moved to Boston
to live with her older sister. “I had no money,”
she recalls, “so Aster, my sister, taught me how to
sew from Simplicity Patterns. That’s when I started
thinking of becoming a fashion designer.”
A few years later, Amsale had earned her undergraduate degree
in political science from Boston State College and followed
her boyfriend to New York, where she studied for an associate’s
degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology
and went to work as a design assistant for Harvé Benard.
When the time came to marry film executive Neil Brown, with
whom she now lives along with her 16-year-old daughter, Rachel,
Amsale started leafing through the thick tomes of bridal magazines.
Instead of the perfect wedding dress, she found appalling
designs more suited to the celluloid stars of the era’s
most popular soap operas. “There was so much beading
and sequins,” she recalls, still looking crestfallen
at the memory. “It was like ‘Dynasty,’ but
ten times more ridiculous! I wanted a much cleaner look.”
Undeterred, Amsale decided to make her own dress – a
white silk chiffon number with a high collar, beaded bodice
and long sheer sleeves – which she wore with a short,
full veil. “I very much wanted to look like a bride,”
she says, “but not overdone, like a backup singer.”
Reflecting that she couldn’t possibly be the only bride-to-be
to have experienced such frustration, Amsale placed an advertisement
for custom-made gowns in a bridal magazine. When the first
response came in, the classic Amsale Bridal collection was
born. That was 20 years ago. The rest, as they say, is history.
But it is the Amsale Evening Couture collection, launched
in 1977 in the wake of her overwhelming success, that had
society women everywhere breathing sighs of relief. “When
I started going to black-tie affairs, I felt the same way
I did about bridal wear,” recounts Amsale, adding, “There
aren’t that many clothes out there for women who want
to wear a bra.” She qualifies that remark by pointing
out that many evening dresses are clingy, low cut or cut on
the bias – all styles difficult to carry off if the
wearer is not blessed with a perfect figure. “Everyone
wants to look young,” she cautions. “If you are
in your fifties and you look like you’re in your forties,
you have succeeded. But if you are in your forties and try
to look like you’re in your twenties, you’re actually
going to look older.”
Enter
Amsale’s twice-yearly collection of six to eight gowns
and approximately 20 separates. Sold exclusively at Amsale’s
Madison Avenue boutique, the exquisite assembly of “modern
classic” cocktail dresses, evening gowns and evening
separates in silk Zibolinne, silk charmeuse or silk crepe,
is available in a staggering range of 20 colors. Still, the
perennial favorite is black. “It makes you look slimmer,”
says Amsale matter-of-factly.
“I believe in simplicity of line, form, silhouette and
embellishment,” says Amsale of her designs. A black-beaded
bodice in Alençon lace and a swath of black tulle peering
out from under the hem make a stunning contrast to the fluid
elegance of a sleeveless ivory silk mermaid gown. A beaded-lace
empire bodice with elbow-length sleeves imparts a touch of
sophisticated sex appeal to a flirty crepe cocktail dress.
A simple stretch of beaded Chantilly lace over a nude lining
draws the eye to the bust and the well-formed shoulders above.
The collection retails for between $1,200 and $4,000 and is
custom- and hand-made in Amsale’s midtown factory, located
above her design studio. “Quality control is vital,”
explains the designer. “By keeping production right
here in New York, we can accommodate many changes.”
Today, Amsale’s timeless creations take pride of place
in the walk-in closets of discerning women across the country
who can recognize quality at the glance of a laser eye. And
that’s just fine with her. “I stand for the educated
consumer,” says the no-less sophisticated and confident
designer. “She keeps me on my toes.”. |
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| Romy
de Courtay is a bicoastal freelance writer whose articles
on fashion, design, travel and lifestyle have appeared in
Town & Country, Elle Décor, Elite Traveler,
Movieline and The Los Angeles Times. |
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| Photo
credit in order of appearance: Amsale, Vincente Wolf, Amsale,
Amsale, Amsale, Vincente Wolf |
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