Simplicity by Amsale

Amsale Aberra’s career started when she could not find a dress for her own wedding in 1985. She wanted something simple, but every option on the market seemed over the top. So she made her own dress — with clean, simple lines and little embellishment. With that dress, Aberra, who died Sunday, launched a business.

“Amsale was the mother of the modern bridal gown,” said Mara Urshel, co-owner of Kleinfeld, the New York City wedding dress emporium that was the first to sell Aberra’s dresses. (Aberra was known by her given name.)

Before Aberra joined the scene, you would mostly find “the froufrou or wedding cake design dress,” Urshel said. “The fabrics were very embellished and beaded.”

Aberra’s collection was the first “to push the strapless gown in the 1990s,” Urshel said. It was also among the first to show backs and sleeves made of illusion fabric.

It was unusual to see color added to a wedding dress, but Amsale sometimes used it to punctuate a style; she also incorporated embellishments like beads or crystals, but sparingly.

“Some of Amsale’s gowns did have a bit of lace or a few appliqués, but were mostly simple and unembellished,” Urshel said. The fabric she favored was silk faille.

As time went on the dress forms seemed to become a bit more complicated, but they remained unadorned and never fussy.

“She stayed true to her look,” Urshel said.

Aberra’s last collection, for spring 2019, will be shown this month.