After over 40 years in business, bridal and eveningwear designer Steven Birnbaum is retiring and closing his doors at the end of this year.
By: Rachel CapoSteven’s career began in costume design, where creating pieces for theatre and dance taught him the duality of intricate craftsmanship without sacrificing ease of movement. In the meantime, Steven began building a steady stream of custom bridal and eveningwear for private clients, further refining his technical couture skills and shaping a priceless understanding of dressing and fitting the bodies of real women.
In 1998, he combined forces with Robert Bullock to create Birnbaum & Bullock, a couture range of bridal separates, featuring extensive handwork by way of beading and embroidery. The brand self-described as ‘uncompromising’, and indeed this would be the quality set to define Steven’s sensibility as a designer.
In recent years, Steven’s focus progressively shifted to exclusively creating made-to-measure, custom bridal and evening pieces. A classic sense of elegance imbued with touches of the whimsy and feminine, all without foregoing ease of comfort and movement, has come to define his work - all hand-crafted from start to finish in his Chelsea atelier. Steven’s uncompromising vision has been the combination of tailor-made, couture-quality garments with a level of service and attentiveness befitting a true luxury experience.
We've always been huge fans of Birnbaum & Bullock and Steven's namesake collection, and are sad to see him closing his doors (see the post here of him creating my custom wedding dress — photo below!). Before officially closing, a sale of one-of-a-kind couture pieces (available at 70-75% below retail value) will be held December 4th through December 15th at 151 West 25th Street, 7th Fl., New York, NY 10001. Contact [email protected] or (212) 242-2914 to make your appointment.
