Although he's won design awards and will be featured in a national bridal magazine this summer, Antonio Fermin wants Juneau brides to know he's accessible.
"I'm very down to earth. Bring me chocolate and Dr. Pepper and I do even better," he said with a laugh in a recent telephone interview from his home in Kansas City, Mo.
Fermin's visit to Juneau March 9 to 11 is sponsored by Dolores Garcia, owner of The Wedding Shoppe. He will headline a bridal fair with a mini seminar Friday and meet one-on-one with prospective brides Saturday and Sunday.
This is Fermin's 10th year as a designer. He has a retail store in Kansas City, but travels about 300 days a year.
"They call me 'the people's designer' because we are the only one who goes out to small towns," he said.
Garcia's shop is his only Alaska outlet. "I choose one store (in a state) because we don't want (the bride) to walk down the aisle wearing a dress you could find anywhere," he told the Bangor Daily News during a trip to Maine.
Especially for Alaska's brides, he has designed a "cracked ice" gown, inspired by the fact that some Last Frontier couples choose to marry on glaciers.
The princess-style gown has a scoop neckline, short sleeves, and hand-beaded decorations of crystallized beads, seed pearls and silver pearls. The beading circles the neckline, then cascades diagonally from the bodice to the front of the skirt. On the back, it flows from one shoulder to the opposite side of the skirt. The train also sports some of the same beading pattern, which includes snowflakes, he said.
The gown, regularly priced at $2,199, will sell for $979 during Fermin's visit. That price tag is in line with the national industry's average gown cost of least $1,500, although the average gown in Juneau costs about $500, Garcia said. The average wedding cost $15,000 last year, according to bridal publications.
Garcia first heard of Fermin, 38, a couple of years ago, but was skeptical he had anything to offer in Juneau's price range. Then she was told he had gowns for every budget and he spoke Spanish. So she chatted with him at a Las Vegas bridal market in September, and again at the Chicago bridal market in October.
She's heard quite a positive reaction to his planned visit.
"Everyone I talk to is so excited. Even people who are not brides say, 'Can I come, can I come? I love beautiful things,'" Garcia said.
Fermin said brides need to prepare to be the center of attention.
"You will be photographed more on this one day than on any day of your life unless you are crowned Queen of England," he said.
Making a bride gorgeous is a matter of finding a suitable design, he said. "I look at the facial structure, even the length from the earlobe to the neck. I look at the shoulders, bust, waist and height. When we find the right gown that brings out your natural beauty, it puts everything into proportion," said Fermin, who autographs every dress and designs veils to match.
Fermin has two lines, the Continental and the Couture. He will bring 35 Continental gowns and help brides choose the one that best suits them, their taste and their wedding plans.
The Couture line features one-of-a-kind gowns. Each begins with measurements and an individual muslin pattern. Those gowns range up from $4,000.
Ñe is so excited by the prospect of his first trip to Alaska that he is taking an unprecedented extra day for sightseeing before he goes on to appointments in San Diego, Massachusetts and Indiana.
"2002 is already booked," he said.
Fermin was chosen as designer of the year for 2001 by Bridal Guide magazine, and will be featured in the July/August issue. Individual appointments can be scheduled with him between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. There is no charge. The Bridal Shoppe can be reached at 789-9415 or weddak@aol.com.
Ann Chandonnet can be reached at achandonnet@juneauempire.com.
