Dresses
How A Couture Phillipa Lepley Wedding Dress Is Made
From the first consultation to the final fitting, each Phillipa Lepley couture dress is meticulously designed, precisely engineered and intricately hand-created. Over a series of seven precision fittings, the bride will see her dress develop at every stage towards its beautiful completion.
The Design Process:
Phillipa Lepley at No. 48 Fulham Road is where the journey to a standout dress begins. The shop is beautiful and understated with chic French furnishings and huge vintage urns creatively filled with the prettiest seasonal flowers.
Designing a dress with Phillipa Lepley is a joyous affair and the renowned service is professional, unhurried and exclusive to every client. Brides can expect a number of creative sessions with her small party and the Phillipa Lepley atelier team. Brides are given complete carte blanche to pick and personalise every element of their dress from a collection of over seventy different styles. From full skirted ball-gowns or slinky draping to the sleeves and embellishment of other dresses, working together the designer and bride co-create her personal vision of perfection. Design decided – the couture dress-making process begins.
Fittings:
A Phillipa Lepley couture wedding dress is created using the skilled craftsmanship of the specialist atelier team of fitters, pattern-cutters, seamstresses, embroiderers and finishers. Over seven fittings with the bride, the team works fastidiously to turn the end design sketch into a stunning and unique gown.
Once the design has been finalised, there’s the initial measurement appointment followed by the first calico toile fitting, where the lines of the dress are defined to compliment the bride’s curves. A further calico toile fitting perfects the shape before the silk is cut. There are then three further silk fittings before the final check fitting, as close to the wedding as possible, to ensure the dress is absolutely perfect ahead of the big day.
The Corsetry:
A corset is the essential foundation to every Phillipa Lepley dress. Each custom-made corset is specially engineered to reduce the waist by a minimum of two inches.
Creating a silhouette that’s incredibly flattering may look deceptively simple, but it actually takes supreme skill to achieve these results. Indeed, Phillipa Lepley’s team of seamstresses have elevated corsetry to an art form, one that’s taken over thirty years of continued fine tuning and adjustment to perfect.
Bespoke Embellishment:
Beautiful bespoke embellishment is a Phillipa Lepley design signature and one of the reasons why No. 48 Fulham Road is the go to atelier for brides looking to create an exclusive couture bridal gown.
The corseted shapes make the perfect blank canvas for just the right amount of fine yet understated embellishment. From French lace with hand-embroidered pearls, custom diamanté detail on a sweeping cathedral veil to a hand-draped silk-tulle bodice adorned with crystal and rose gold embroidery – it’s these personal touches that take a simple tailored dress to the next level of impeccable design.
Phillipa Lepley is recognised globally as a leading British wedding dress and eveningwear designer, renowned for bespoke couture dresses of the utmost luxury. Her wedding dress shop in London, Chelsea, has over 50 dresses, all of which have been made in England from start to finish at her atelier.