Empire waist wedding dresses: a higher transition
An empire waist places the bodice-to-skirt transition beneath the bust. The skirt begins higher than it does on a natural-waist dress, leaving less visible bodice length and changing the way fabric falls through the torso.
How Rouge and Dainty use the line
Rouge gathers satin into a central knot beneath a deep V halter neckline; its fluid sheath skirt falls from that high point. Sierlijk also carries the empire category, pairing a V neckline with satin and a closer fit-and-flare or mermaid shape. These examples show that a high transition need not lead to one standard skirt width.
The amount of gathering immediately under the bust changes whether the waist reads as a crisp division or a softer release of fabric. In Rouge, the knot makes the starting point explicit; in other designs the line may be more understated.