Creating Couture
As the design director at Blossom and Belle I pride myself in my skill to create a one off bespoke gown or outfit just for you. Couture is not 'dressmaking or copying a design'. Rather it is the creation of a luxury item which starts from design through to pattern cutting, toiles and fittings and the final amazing result.
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Being a designer is a skill in itself. It is the ability to see a client for the first time and knowing exactly what she will suit. It is the art of how fabric will work and fall on the form. Knowing about colours, textures and the cut and line of a design. How to both disguise and emphasise the best and not so best features of the client.
I do not tell you what your size is.....you are your size and your style ... not a copy and not a number within the manufacturing system. I do not work from someone else's pattern....I make my own which is a meticulous process requiring great skill and an art form in itself.
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Being a Designer, pattern cutter and seamstress all in one I prefer to work with one client rather than mass production. From the initial consultation we will sit and work together through fabric samples, what you foresee yourself to be wearing and my design ideas. Couture is having trust in what I will create. I am an artist and you are my canvas.
My aim is to make you look wonderful and feel wonderful whether it be a Bespoke Bridal gown, evening gown or an outfit for a special event.
Couture is not off the peg. It is a unique creation that no one else will have. It is a process that takes time...not something that can be made in an instant. Specialised elements from hand stitched hems and embellishments to steel boned bodices and button and loop detailing are the epitome of a couture gown......... A timeless piece that will look just as wonderful in years to come as the day you took it from our Blossom and Belle design studio.
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I have never been unable to source a fabric or a colour. One Bridal client many years ago wanted a medieval cloak in luxurious velvet and I was requested to match the colour to a dried dark red rose. Another client wanted the most beautiful emerald green in a luxurious soft crepe. Such was the colour and cut of this stunning clients gown that heads turned when she walked gracefully into the room. On this particular occasion I had the honour of being asked by 9 clients to design gowns for a prestigious ball. Eight weeks of working every day and long hours on each individual gown to me was Couture Heaven. Every design was completely different from slimline and elegant to full and fabulous using sumptuous fabrics and eye-catching colours. For my clients it was the knowledge that they were wearing something truly unique and luxurious and in their own size....not mass produced and not off the peg.... something they could wear time and again and feel unique. The gown of the event was worn by Miss She Loves York herself. It was a gown that took myself and my seamstress four weeks from start to finish and 30 metres of fabric. A true statement dress oozing glamour and style just like the lady herself. Like Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the wind she walked down the grand staircase looking captivating and beautiful.
Being a couturier is not easy but it is definitely very rewarding. .... In the words of Edith Piaf.....Non, je ne regrette rien