I spent ten years designing costumes for ballet before I set up the studio and as such the movement of each design is paramount.  As a bride you really want to make an impact on your wedding day - whether it's in the flutter of a silk chiffon sleeve, or the swish of beautifully cut skirt.  I often get requests for my commissions to make that 'Szhuszhy' sound as the client will walk down the aisle.  

Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing little tasters of some of our more popular dresses - which will give you an opportunity to get up close and personal to these glorious dresses which are all breathtakingly beautiful works of art in their own right.

First up it's Evangeline - a glorious 1920s confection of Chantilly lace and jersey silk tulle, with hand cut and finished detailing on the bodice and a wonderfully romantic sense of movement in the skirt.  

Enjoy!

Award-winning bridal designer Annalise Harvey to design ‘Pride & Prejudice’ inspired wedding gown for the Jane Austen Festival

Couturier Annalise Harvey will design the showpiece bridal gown that will close the fashion show at this year’s Jane Austen Festival.

The festival, now in its twelfth year, is an annual celebration of the ever-popular novelist and her work. More than sixty events are held over nine days, including readings, workshops and a costume ball, with the fashion show amongst the highlights of the busy schedule.

Taking inspiration from Pride & Prejudice, Austen’s most loved novel, the catwalk show will trace a history of fashion throughout the 200 years since the novel’s publication before breathing life into the story with a parade of costumes inspired by its much-loved characters. 

In keeping with tradition of fashion shows throughout the decades, the event will conclude with a wedding gown, designed by award winning bridal designer Annalise Harvey and inspired by Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Austen’s most enduring work. 

A 200-year old literary heroine makes an unlikely muse for a bridal designer but this commission is custom-made for Cornwall based Annalise. A graduate from Central St Martin’s with an MA from the London College of Fashion, Annie’s unusual CV boasts ten years as a theatre costume designer, most recently at internationally acclaimed dance house Sadlers Wells. 

But alongside her lifelong love of Jane Austen’s work, Annalise’s true and most enduring passion is reserved for fashion heritage, exploring the history and the significance of clothing throughout the centuries. 

“Every piece of clothing has multiple personal history stories,” says Annalise. “Clothing is not just an expression of our own personalities but of the social conventions of the time. 

“Regency England, which Pride & Prejudice depicts, was a society largely defined by class and sexual inequality – a woman’s financial security was almost entirely dictated by her ability to secure herself a husband of means and position and making a personal choice or marrying for love were privileges very few could afford.

“Her refusal to adhere to those conventions is what makes Lizzie Bennet one of literature’s most popular heroines – instead of allowing herself to be dictated to she shows herself the equal to any man of her acquaintance with her intelligence, wit and courage.

“The force of character that Lizzie displays is what makes designing this gown for the festival such a fascinating project. Before beginning the design process for any gown, whether for a fashion show for a character such as Lizzie or for a modern bride for her own wedding day, I make sure I have a good understanding of my ‘source material’ – the personality, the likes and dislikes and the aspirations of the wearer. By regularly returning to those key factors throughout the process I am able to create a gown that is beautiful, entirely unique and so natural to the bride that for her to wear any other gown on her wedding day would become unthinkable.” 
Part of the Prince’s House collective of bridal creatives based in Truro, Cornwall, Annalise began designing wedding dresses in 2001. Having moved to the area from London three years ago, she was named Cornish Brides magazine’s Designer of the Year for 2013 and the South West Regional Winner in the 2013 Wedding Industry Awards.

Alongside her bespoke bridal designs, Annalise also offers the Nostalgia Collection, a range of exquisite heritage inspired bridal gowns hand-made to order. The collection captures the essence of 20th century design throughout the decades, reclaiming ‘vintage’ fashion by combining period inspired designs with contemporary couture techniques.

Following the Jane Austen Festival, Annalise will be holding a series of events in and around Bath to showcase her collections. Prices start at £850 for the Nostalgia Collection and from £1,500 for a bespoke gown. For further information regarding these events or to book a consultation please visit www.annaliseharvey.com 

I was delighted to see Lulu featured in the last but one issue of Wed Magazine - a favourite publication in the Studio and packed full of incredible suppliers and inspiration.

This wonderfully serene picture  was taken by Keith Riley - a popular photographer among many Annalise Harvey clients, more of whose work you will see soon in real bride features!

It's a magazine designed for Industry pro's - from designers, to suppliers, to boutiques and online retailers. 

Attire Bridal is a highly respected publication that keeps us all up to date with developments in the trade - trends, advice and much much more.

I was thrilled when the editor contacted me to fine out more about the Nostalgia Collection and very excited to unwrap my copy this month to see the interview in it..

You can read it (I hope!) below...

Photo credits:
Photography: Ashley Hampson and Andrea Pennington
Hair: KJR Hairdressing with Louise Richards
Makeup: Ella Butler
Models: Rain Brooks, Niamh Carolan, Zoe Hoy, Jess Harper

It's the kind of evening that Cornwall needs much more of - top quality fashion events in beautiful heritage surroundings with a stellar cast of designers and models all raising money for a good cause.

Kindly hosted by Sir Ferrers and Lady Vyvyan, I was delighted to close the show with the Nostalgia and Couture Collections.  It was held on the 15th March in a marquee outside their ancestral family home, Trelowarren,  on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall 

The weather was truly awful all day - and we lost half of the changing room space in a howling gale, but the dresses survived and the audience would never have known what chaos was ensuing back stage!   Holly Young (headwear designer extraordinaire) and I travelled down together and really enjoyed the day doing what we love  - as Holly said to me ' Fahion Shows and Photo - shoots, that's what it's all about!! '

Ashley Hampson was on hand to record the event (a very pleasant surprise!) and you can see a selection of his pics below....  and fellow Princes House resident Simon Burt turned out too to do some social diary pics of the evening for the press coverage to come.

It was lovely to see Daphne Skinnard too - Deputy Editor of BBC Radio Cornwall who did an admirable job MCing the event.

All in all it was a truly great evening - with lots of money being raised for the NSPCC and i was delighted to be a part of it.  Enjoy the pics!

Delighted today to read about Nostalgia on Cornwall's fabulous wedding blog - Pasties and Petticoats

If you haven't yet caught up with these wonderful dresses   Donna's brilliant and inspiring blog is a great place to start - but don't forget you can read more about each individual design on the collections page too!

And just because there are so many wonderful images from the collection shoot that I couldn't share with you - here's another to keep you inspired to 'reclaim vintage'.  

This is our lovely Zoe modelling Grace in a beautiful vinatge tiara by Sarah Drew.  Picture by Ashley Hampson

Just a little something something to make YOU smile this dreary Friday Afternoon ...  Here is our lovely model Rain behind the scenes at the Nostalgia collection shoot at the Rose in Vale Hotel in November.    Isn't she dreamy?!  The pic was taken by long standing Annalise Harvey friend - Andrea Pennington more of whose work you can see here

When I said to her that she looked like a true red-carpet A-lister she replied-

It's what the dress brings out in you - wearing it is pure unadulterated self indulgence!!!

Now that's an endorsement that's got ME smiling too.  

Have a great weekend all!

I was totally thrilled today to see that the wonderful West Weddings has written a very flattering critique of the new collection on their blog for brides in the South West.

They've totally grasped the aims of the collection and fallen a little bit head over heels for Lulu - which is proving a very popular design for sassy fashion conscious brides who love a retro vibe!

You can read all about it here 

The full collection can be seen on the Collections page of this website and prices start from £600 with all dresses
fully customisable in fabric choices and embellishments meaning that you can truly have a bespoke feel on your wedding day.

Don't forget I offer a fittings service in London as well as in Cornwall, so if you like what you see please do get in touch by calling the studio on 07979 20 55 74 or drop me a line at [email protected]!