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Coronavirus Pandemic Impacts Bridal Industry Coronavirus Pandemic Impacts Bridal Industry

CHINESE SUPPLIERS MANUFACTURED NEARLY 80% OF AMERICAN WEDDING GOWNS

By Jiaqi Huang

Amid fears of the coronavirus spreading, most Chinese clothes manufacturers have temporarily closed for nearly one month. Meanwhile, the virus is causing ripples in the U.S. bridal industry, which relies on dresses manufactured in China.

Donald Dutkowsky, professor of economics from Maxwell School, says 80 percent of the wedding dress supply comes out of China.

“Now we have what sometimes management calls a supply chain bottleneck here. Basically, in the case of bridal dresses, it sounds like there’re not too many other places to go.”

Gee June Bridal in Skaneateles has its supply of fabrics from China.

“We have Catherine Deane, who is coming off the production lines in Hong Kong; and we have Jenny Yu, who’s coming off the production lines in China.”

Layne Dann has been a freelance dress designer for over 10 years, she says now it’s a busy season with many dresses ordered for weddings in spring and summer. She just finished up a bodice for a bride whose wedding is this Saturday.

“There was lots of beadwork on the bodice. And so in taking it in for her, we needed to hand sew all that beads back on.”
Layne says it usually takes three to six months for a dress to be designed and made. To avoid shipping delays caused by the coronavirus, she recommends brides who haven’t bought their dresses to buy off the rack. She has prepared around 70 dresses on hand.

“I have always had online addresses available here, that it’s the same dress we run it and three or four sizes you purchase off the rack, they can be customized by us or by somebody else.”

Some of Layne’s dresses are manufactured domestically in LA and Brooklyn, but she thinks it’s just a matter of time until the coronavirus hits those domestic factories.

With NCC News, I’m Jiaqi Huang.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) ——Amid fears of the coronavirus spreading, most Chinese clothes manufacturers have temporarily closed for nearly one month. Meanwhile, the virus is causing ripples in the U.S. bridal industry, which relies on dresses manufactured in China. 

Donald Dutkowsky, professor of economics from Maxwell School, says 80 percent of the wedding dress supply comes out of China. 

“Now we have what sometimes management calls a supply chain bottleneck here. Basically, in the case of bridal dresses, it sounds like there’re not too many other places to go.”

Gee June Bridal in Skaneateles has its supply of fabrics from China.

“We have Catherine Deane, who is coming off the production lines in Hong Kong; and we have Jenny Yu, who’s coming off the production lines in China.”

Layne Dann has been a freelance dress designer for over 10 years, she says now it’s a busy season with many dresses ordered for weddings in spring and summer. She just finished up a bodice for a bride whose wedding is this Saturday.   

“There was lots of beadwork on the bodice. And so in taking it in for her, we needed to hand sew all that beads back on.”

Layne says it usually takes three to six months for a dress to be designed and made. To avoid shipping delays caused by the coronavirus, she recommends brides who haven’t bought their dresses to buy off the rack. She has prepared around 70 dresses on hand. 

“I have always had online addresses available here, that it’s the same dress we run it and three or four sizes you purchase off the rack, they can be customized by us or by somebody else.”

Some of Layne’s dresses are manufactured domestically in LA and Brooklyn, but she thinks it’s just a matter of time until the coronavirus hits those domestic factories. 

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