His TL Brooke bridal line uses only pre- and post-consumer fabrics, scraps and reclaimed materials. Photo: Instagram/TL Brooke
When designer Timothy Westbrook was three years old, he would dance and spin around the living room.
His sister, then six, recorded him one day, “And she’s like, ‘And there’s Timmy. The weird womanly thing,’” Westbrook recalled.
“And my mom in the kitchen just shouts, ‘Why does he have to be a boy or a girl? Why can’t he just be a dancer?’” Westbrook said. “So, it’s like 1993 in the middle of the boonies. And my mom is deprogramming gender norms.”
Westbrook, 35, grew up in Wanakena, New York, where, he said, he was free to be himself.
“From the beginning, whatever I could get my hands on, I would just put on my body and make my outfit,” he said.
This became the foundation of his design: making something new out of something old to reveal a wearer’s authentic self.
“I think ultimately the idea is that clothing can send you anywhere,” Westbrook said. “Clothing can be a billboard for your most authentic and imaginative thoughts.”
Westbrook, who holds a bachelor’s degree in fibre arts and material studies from Syracuse University, wants to make the world of fashion a more comfortable place, especially for those on their wedding day.
He invites clients to wear what feels good to them.
Timothy Westbrook says that you should dress as the most elevated, authentic, peacocking version of yourself for your wedding day. Photo: Instagram/Timothy Westbrook
In his studio in Dumbo, Brooklyn, he created the TL Brooke bridal line, which uses only pre- and post-consumer fabrics, scraps and reclaimed materials.
His work, he said, includes “a client interested in wearing an elven-inspired bridal look as a male presenting person; a femme lesbian who wants to wear all black for a Brooklyn elopement; and a straight man whose look is Victorian inspired yet contemporary with custom gold embroidery for his wedding in a castle in England.”
Read more: She designs with love, for love: Nurita Harith speaks on her bridalwear journey
Sustainability has always been key to his designs.
“I costumed the Magic Flute opera,” he said, referring to his time in college. “I created the entire opera out of repurposed materials. Every material I used spoke to what the character was.”
Westbrook believes that throwing something away in no way means it goes away.
His TL Brooke bridal line uses only pre- and post-consumer fabrics, scraps and reclaimed materials. Photo: Instagram/TL Brooke
“I make clothing out of trash,” he said.
In 2022, he designed a gown woven out of audio cassette tapes and vintage rug warp yarns for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was attending the Earthshot Prize gala.
“The belt is made from fallen umbrellas,” Westbrook said. “The zipper and lining are also repurposed.”
His artsy resume runs deep. This includes an internship with the designer Jill Stuart, working as a freelance wedding planner and artist, and being a founder of the Brooklyn Sewing Academy.
He was also a contestant in Season 12 of Project Runway, which he described as “a terrible experience”.
“I was 24. My current success has nothing to do with the show,” he said. “When I was eliminated from Project Runway, they said, ‘What would you have done differently?’ And I said, ‘Well, I just wish I would’ve danced more.’”
In a Zoom interview, Westbrook talked about what bridal, and being authentic, means to him.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
How do you define bridal?
Each couple and individual gets to define that for themselves. I’m not going to tell anyone what they should and should not do. I’m so excited to remind them what they could do.
Bridal means the experience. When I say bridal, what I am thinking about is one human being walking in surrounded by a few other human beings who have gotten them to that moment.
What would you suggest clients wear on their wedding day?
Don’t dress up as a bride on your wedding day. Don’t dress up as a groom on your wedding day.
Who are you? Dress as the most elevated, authentic, peacocking version of yourself, opt for the truest and most authentic way to represent you on your day.
What role does gender play in bridal fashion?
The writer and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon has some great rhetoric around clothing and gender. Clothing itself does not have a sex or gender. If a particular garment makes you feel authentic on your wedding day, then it is the right item for you.
What inspires you the most when it comes to designing wedding wear for clients?
Their life story and the story of their family is truly inspiring. I love thanking moms, remembering loved ones no longer with us and meeting childhood best friends.
Someone chose to fall in love with you and spend the rest of their lives with you. I’m so excited to learn about the you that they fell so deeply madly in love with.
What does being authentic mean to you?
I don’t have the ability to be anything other than authentic. Because I was always visibly queer, there was no way for me to be in the closet. But the way that I look at it is my personality is a spice rack, and, for a time, I learned how to cook only with cumin and salt.
Read more: Bridalwear that is elegant and rich in culture popular among Malaysians
When did you start using the entire "spice rack"?
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2017, and in 2022, I had my large intestine removed. That surgery was the beginning of me really being entirely true to myself.
The bridal collection is finally happening now because it has taken me this long to be in full alignment to do this.
My collective life experience grief, trauma, illness, adversity, needed to come and go to evolve to this point of living unafraid in my authenticity. The result was a bridal collection that has been unknowingly beneath the surface all along.
Before the collection even launched, I had four bridal clients this year.
When it comes to bridal requests, do you ever tell someone that something is impossible?
I’ll tell you this. I applied for Teach For America, and I was asked, “You plan a field trip, but now there’s no funding for the bus. What do you do?”
I answered and later they said, “What did it feel like when we told you that you couldn’t go on a field trip?”
And I was like, “Oh, I didn’t know you told me you couldn’t go on a field trip. You just told me we didn’t have a bus.” – ©2024 The New York Times Company
