BTS - designing + making
Every collection we make is a huge labour of love, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. It all starts with me collecting potential new fabric swatches and sketching initial ideas, then trying to coalesce everything into a collection that works well as a whole. Although I adore designing, and it’s honestly my favourite part of the job, it is nevertheless a genuinely difficult task; I think some people think that designers just sketch a dress on paper and then make it in whatever fabric they like, but nothing could be further from the truth!
The practicalities of designing mean that there are countless different facets of the end product to consider, which you need to hold in your mind when finalising a piece. These include the cut, fabric, drape, eco credentials of the materials, fabric width + cutting layout, ease of making (i.e. is it achievable and realistic to make in a reasonable amount of time?), fabric metreage (how many metres will it take, and is it affordable?), is the fabric see-through at all, and does it need to be double/triple layered?
Alongside these initial practical considerations, I always make sure I think about whether the designs complement each other and form cohesive collection, ensure the cuts are as flattering on as many body types as possible, consider if the separates work with enough other pieces in the collection, and above all, wonder will people like the designs enough to wear them on their wedding day?
The making process is a wonderful combination of pattern-cutting experimentation, fabric toiling and draping, and trial-and-error problem solving. I genuinely lie in bed at night methodically working my way mentally through a dress and deciding how a certain edge should be finished, or how a neckline should fasten, or where a dart should sit, and once I’ve planned a piece as far as is practical, then we’ll start making the prototype and seeing if the proposed dressmaking techniques and finishing methods are a success. Fabrics rarely behave exactly as you’d like them to, and each new one requires different ways of handling and controlling it by using various approaches (some from couture books, some from vintage sewing manuals, some gleaned from knowledge gained whilst working in the theatre in my past career as a costume designer).
People never expect it, but almost without fail it’s usually the most deceptively simple dresses which are the hardest to get right. With our chic, minimal bias-cut slip dresses, for example, they have to be cut and made with such meticulous care, as there’s nowhere to hide substandard pattern cutting or shoddy workmanship!
There are so many examples I could mention of details which we strove to get right and made countless attempts at before we were finally satisfied with the finished version. The straps of the Daisuki Dress, the skirt of the Obsession Dress, the silhouette of the Viola Dress – all these seemingly simple elements absolutely drove us wild whilst we were working out the best ways of executing the designs, but ultimately, we love the challenge, and we hope you love the results.
Love,
Hayley
