weddings and special events and private estates: Bridal Couture with R-Mine Bridal

Recently, I had lunch with Arminé to talk about her collection, along shopping tips for finding the ideal dress.

Los Angeles based fashion designer, Arminé, has a very impressive background that begins with a Fine Arts degree from Armenia. As an artist she loves painting, creating, and exploring different pieces of artwork. Her love of fashion started when she was young, growing up, Arminé would design and make dresses for her dolls and then eventually for herself. After moving to America, she decided to attend FIDM and pursue a degree in Fashion Design. Upon graduation she spent over eight years working with various designers– cultivating a deep love for high fashion! Arminé put a brief hold on her career to raise her two children, but returned to the business after a few years with an idea and a plan. For over fifteen years now, she has been creating couture wedding and evening gowns, establishing one of the most unique boutiques in Los Angeles, R-Mine bespoke. She designs bespoke gowns for weddings, celebrities, red carpet events and editorials.

GP - How long does it take to create a dress?

Arminé - Ideally eight months to a year. Some of our fabrics take up to six months to make and ship. But if the material is on hand, we can do a dress in as little as two weeks.

GP - Two weeks? How can you create a couture dress in such a short time?

Arminé - We create and make everything in-house. All of our team are very skilled. However, rush orders will increase the cost considerably. We have to halt productions on all other gowns and solely focus on that one gown. We then have to rush order any supplies if they are not in store, such as beading and crystals, which can be very costly.

GP - Is everything done by hand?

Arminé- Yes, we do everything by hand. We sew each individual crystal to the gown, all the rouching and even the pleating is done by hand, in-house. It’s a really fun and interesting process to watch. The only time a dress leaves the store is when the client comes to pick it up. We have such an amazing and talented staff of seamstresses who take so much pride in their work!

GP - What is one of the biggest mistakes that brides make when shopping for a dress?

Arminé- When a bride brings a group of her friends to pick out a dress. This can be very stressful for the bride. We recommend that the bride bring only one or two people (this could be her mother, sister or a really good friend) whose opinion they trust. When a bride brings a lot of people with her to try on dresses, her opinion gets lost so quickly over the voices of the other women.

GP - What is the second mistake a client can make?

Arminé - It is best for the bride to be honest about her budget at the very beginning, so a sales consultant can pull the right dresses for them. Some brides think that their wedding dress isn’t that important because they are only in the dress for a day. In actuality, it’s one of the most essential aspects of the wedding day, when the bride’s children and grandchildren look through photo albums, the main pictures that will survive time will be the brides on their wedding day smiling in her beautiful wedding dress.

GP - What if the bride loves a specific designer?

Arminé- If she loves a certain designer, then I recommend that she goes to that designer and choose a dress from that designer’s collection. This is a once in a life time experience, so they should be wearing the dress they always dreamed about.

GP - Where is your shop located?

Arminé – R-Mine bespoke is located in the heart of Studio City on Ventura Blvd., in the Ventura Corridor. Our address is 12242 Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604. Our contact information is 818.505.9064 or info@rminebridal.com.