Proving that even blogging about the brand doesn’t give you first access, Women’s Wear Daily just beat everyone to the punch with beautiful photos of Beholden (BHLDN). While the rest of us were just trying to buy a vowel WWD headed out to Urban Outfitters’ Navy Yard campus in Philadelphia to take a look at the dresses, shoes and accessories that will populate the initial collection. Set to make its e-commerce debut on Valentine’s Day, Anthro fans everywhere are drooling whether wedding bells are in their future or not.
WWD was kind enough to provide not only a slideshow but also an accompanying article BHLDN Managing Director Kristin Norris explained how this line sets itself apart:
“We’ll attract a bride who is looking to reflect her vision,” said Norris. “She may be a more mature or sophisticated bride. Our customer skews slightly older, but she’s still under 30.”
“We’re confident that we’re filling in space that no one’s filling in,” Norris continued. “We’re offering a take that’s not out there. We have a lot of shorter dresses, lots of color and prints and no optic white dresses. Traditionally, people got married in churches. Now, they’re getting married on beaches and mountain tops. We’re building our assortment for the ultimate end use.”
Another interesting tidbit is that Urban Outfitters is trying to separate this line from Anthropologie — insisting that Anthropologie is “full” right now. This may be to their detriment as all of the aggregated versions of this story that I read seemed to connect BHLDN to Urban Outfitters as a result, expecting distressed dresses, short hemlines and the hipster characteristics of the youngest-skewing brand under UO’s ever-expanding umbrella. The best version of this skewering came from The Cut’s ever-honest commenterati.
I am of course dying to see more. I love the idea for this line and can’t wait to see more of the wedding gowns, event dresses and shoes. For an Anthro lover getting married this could not have come at a better time. The only thing I’m not liking? The name of the line. Between the all-consonants and the iffy interpretation of the word itself, it seems like BHLDN’s name wasn’t completely thought-out.
Thanks to everyone who emailed me about this!
Previously: More on BHLDN
