Bespoke Gown for the Barbican

This dress was made for a wedding at the Barbican Arts Centre this September and was commissioned as a bespoke piece for a bride looking for something to fit perfectly with the venue and her style.

Based on our Christy dress the French corded lace used was a deep champagne colour to match the dark ivory of the silk duchess satin. Once again we turned the silk on it's back to give the lustrous depth of sheen without the high shine.
This fitted design with its dramatic low back, smoothed hips and feminine sweetheart illusion over the bust gave a beautiful balletic quality. Contrasting with this delicate fit the double full circle skirt drapes in dramatic curls to the hand bound hem made from the matching silk satin.

The bride chose a fabulous pair of spectator shoes from Chie Mihara with a lemon yellow bow which we picked up in stripes over the finely beaded belt.
Each of the covered lace buttons was hand beaded with Japanese foil lined glass beads in a mix of champagne and cream tones. This design matched the edging of the neckline also adorned in subtle beads.

It has been an honor to design a dress to be worn at the Barbican surrounded by so much inspiration and style.

Fifties Silk Starlet Bride

And we're back ....... with a fifties short n' sparky dress worn by an illustration starlet for the new year.

Rut spoke exactly the same language as me when it came to explaining what she wanted in her wedding dress, through the magic of illustration. (Ruts the talented lady behind out measuring guide illustration too!)

I love the way Rut had completely styled her outfit for the day, the look was beautifully fifties clean and looked so cool. This is how to plan and not get overwhelmed with all the options, draw or moodboard it out!
There weren't too many accessories or bits, the deep pink shoes matched the roses (you can't get much better than the classics), the colour pallette or the dark pink, grey and ivory worked perfectly together and the simple birdcage and wrist length gloves finished the look by just adding a nod to bridal without loosing any of the understated glamour.

The dress was designed with a t-shirt style cut to the bodice with the deep V back and our classic signature waistband. This little waistband is much more than just a piece of fabric and holds waist cinching secrets inside. The addition of the pleated silk belt brought texture to the silk and finished the dress.

The skirt in the silk taffeta was full with pockets hidden in the side seams and structured with the charcoal grey tulle underskirt. The dress worn again this summer with a lace jacket and navy belt would make a 'bang on trend' coastal dinner dress too.

Congrats to Rut for looking so well styled and gorgeous on her wedding day in Europe! xxx

Scallops and Tulips, The wedding dress and Coat

 Photography: Alexandra King
Model: Sian Estelle Petty
Hats: Alisha Petty

 I now have the chance to say a little more about the bridal collection and will post each dress in detail over the week. 

The capsule six look collection was inspired by the women that kept asking for our cocktail dresses in white and the reason I have eventually produced this collection. Always being inspired by vintage dresses, the golden age of couture mainly Christian Dior and Jeanne Lanvin and old Hollywood movies, these dresses are the first expression of all of this inspiration in my head directed to Bridal wear.
 

The dresses had to be wearable, there are already many designers creating wonderfully extravagant, long strapless white wedding dresses and I wanted these to be different. These are the dresses that if I was to get married another six times, I would want to wear! 

So, they had to be light, not bulky, not trapping (I had a horrible experience when I was looking for wedding dresses years ago and felt physically ill being trapped in a this huge wedding dress, like being forced to get married and there would be no running away or moving in the huge skirt that surrounded me!)

These are for the bride who loves a bit of vintage, old movies and wants a dress that's for and about her not just her wedding. 

The 'Dew' and 'Dalzell' (names taken from the Sunset Boulevard cast list) dress and coat are inspired by those 1950s and 60s Hollywood weddings where the stars have a low key and terribly stylish marriage at the town hall or in Vegas. Think Jackie, Audrey, Elizabeth and Mia. 

The dress is made in a silk duchess satin with an integrated bodice and dramatic folds in the tulip skirt to create the strong lined hourglass silhouette. This is designed to be clean and simple with just our hand beaded belt at the waist.
The Scalloped coat again works well with the simplicity or the shift dress with echoing curves at the centre front and cuffs. This was also designed to be quite a princess coat with the rhinestone trim at the cuffs and the pleats at the back of the full skirt. It's softly tailored with no shoulder pads and just a little structuring in the bodice with boning like a Victorian made jacket. 

I imagining new brides in Vegas and at gorgeous old Town Halls in this with a killer pair of kitten heels and a vintage clutch to match. And maybe just a very chic fascinator from Alisha Petty.

Spring Summer 2011 Bridal

Here is the lookbook for the long awaited Spring/Summer 2011 Bridal collection. I have loads more to tell and say about the collection but first need to share these pictures of the gorgeous Sian Estelle Petty modelling with hats by Alisha Petty. The Petty Sisters are a fantastic pair and thank you very much to them and their talented ways. x

Creating a Wedding Dress

I usually work on bespoke dresses where the bride has a very individual idea and then I design her dress specifically for her, instead of picking from a collection of set dresses. I now have quite a few designs I've been dying to create so it's time to release my own collection which should be ready early next year.    

This dress was a first sample trial run so I thought I would share the process of creating a wedding gown from start to finish.  I haven't included everything as we would be here forever!

We start with a basic block for the bodice to make the foundation of the dress and make a muslin toile to make sure the bodice design will work and fit correctly. We next cut out the foundation bodice in the silk once the pattern has been cut correctly.

Next the foundation bodice is made up and then boning is inserted where needed whilst checking the fit all round.

The next stage is to build the lining of the bodice, this is the inside of the dress pictured down to the hips and again it's checking the fit and how it lies with the foundation bodice. 

This dress has so many full circles for the base lining, the lining and the tulle skirt which is made up of metres and metres and metres of full circles, all layered and draped to create the full skirt. 

The best way to cut a full circle is with a tape measure and a pin, measuring the same distance all around to make a perfect circle.

The the base lining is attached in silk and I start to build up the layers of the skirt carefully hand stitching each piece in place and checking the fall all the way around. 

I always check the dress in the mirror as I'm working, it's something I picked up from art lessons at school and I think it gives you a new perspective so you can see if anythings not quite right. It's definitely needed after working on the same dress for 10 hours a day!

(please excuse my messy studio, I'm a hoarder!)

Then the bodice is draped onto the foundation in stages constantly adjusting the folds in this particular design until I've got then just in the right place and then hand stitching in place.  Then it's time for the finishing touches in the way of details, sashes, beading, etc. The total time amounts to over fifty hours but the finished piece is always worth it.

The most exciting part is being able to walk into my studio the morning after I've finished the dress to see the design I sketched weeks or months before in real life. xxx