Our beautiful bride Morgan worked with the AH team to bring her dress vision to life at our Islington Showroom. You may be wondering what a Bespoke Dress is and how you start a process like this! We hope Morgan’s journey gives you a special behind the scenes look at how a bespoke concept comes […]
Our beautiful bride Morgan worked with the AH team to bring her dress vision to life at our Islington Showroom. You may be wondering what a Bespoke Dress is and how you start a process like this! We hope Morgan’s journey gives you a special behind the scenes look at how a bespoke concept comes to life, the important steps involved and final outcome.
A bespoke dress is a design that doesn’t currently exist, it is a design that comes from inspiration, research and ideas. Andrea and our team will guide you through each stage of the process to ensure each element of your dress is exactly how you want it to be. Morgan came to us with a strong concept for her dress, she knew she wanted a corset for structure and shape, she also knew there needed to be a beautiful asymmetric element to the design. Here’s how we took these thoughts and created a beautiful dress for Morgan’s wedding day!
Design & Planning
Morgan met with Andrea to work on the design of her dress. Working through inspiration images, details and listening to what was important for Morgan. During this visit Andrea got Morgan to try some of our signature corseted shapes to see how she felt in longer line corsets and shorter, waisted corsets. It became clear from trying our Indigo dress that the long line corset was the one! This builds the base of the dress, creating shape and support. From here Morgan and Andrea worked together on draping and asymmetry.
“The inspo came from trying on multiple dresses and deciding I wanted something unique. I am a sucker for an asymmetric neckline — so this felt natural to be part of my wedding dress design. My style is timeless and simple at heart” – Morgan
The draped silk one shoulder came to life using offcuts we have in store, we use these to play around with ideas and to start building a visual for our brides, this helped Morgan get a real for the overall concept moving forwards. We also finalised fabric choice – a stunning heavy weight silk marocain and also decided that Morgans dress would be full length with a train and split. A sketch is then made to further enhance the concept which helps aid the design process moving forwards.
Measurements & Toile
Once Morgan had spent some time with Andrea working on the design and creating her vision on paper it was time to move onto the next stage. Measurements were taken and a Toile of Morgan’s dress was made. A toile is a prototype of Morgan’s bespoke design made in a cotton material, this allows our pattern cutter and fitter to assess the fit, shaping and final details. This is a crucial stage in the process as it allowed Morgan to see her design before making in silk, we could adjust the fit, neckline shaping, split height making sure Morgan was 100% happy!
“The toile was so gorgeous I would’ve walked down the aisle in it! Jokes aside, it really put me at ease. It helped me envision the dress at an earlier stage and allowed for any new adjustments to be made. This is an essential (and fun!) step for peace of mind.” – Morgan
Silk Fitting
Once everything was confirmed at Morgans toile our seamstresses got to work and made Morgans dress in her chosen silk fabric. At the silk fitting the dress is partially made but we leave some parts open to finalise fit and shaping. It was all hands on deck to pin Morgan’s hem with her wedding shoes, create a lovely shape but fitting the waist and back. We also used this time to finalise the draping shape on the asymmetric one shoulder.
“The creative journey! The made-to-measure process means you’re involved every step of the way. Understanding how the fabric works, the inner workings of the dress and the entire fit only made me feel more confident on the day. It felt like it was truly made for me and in a way, BY me (with lots of professional expertise of course!)” – Morgan
Final Fitting
The final stage of the process is the final try on, this is when Morgan’s dress was fully complete with corset, handmade buttons, a finished hem and overall fit. It’s the first time Morgan saw her dress completely finished and was such a special moment with our team, she looked so beautiful!! The final fitting is a lovely chance to see everything together, so Morgan had her shoes, veil and accessories and also chose to have a bustle for the evening to pin up her train!
“I would highly recommend a corset for anyone wanting to feel like a million bucks on the day. It meant that once I was in the dress, I was in! There was no room for gaping, no bits of fabric flying around and NO need for any double-sided tape etc. It contributed to a super stress free day and once I was in the dress, I felt like I could take on the world. It moulded me and I remember saying to my friend ‘I honestly feel like I am wearing nothing — this is SO comfortable”
Morgan on Her Wedding Day
We are so excited to share more photos from Morgan’s Beautiful wedding day in South Africa, it was an absolute pleasure to work on Morgan’s Bespoke Design and our whole team enjoyed the creativity and special nature of this piece.
