Chantal Mallett gowns are handmade by Chantal in her Bedfordshire Studio.

In most cases 100% of the work from cutting the patterns, sewing & finishing are done by Chantal. This includes all the hand beading & some hand embroidery. Chantal does not employ outworkers to sew or finish garments.

Occasionally embroidery is out sourced to small, British based companies as is the hand painted French lace. The work is done for Chantal on their premises.

Chantal receives emails on a weekly basis from companies in India, China, etc. offering their embellishment services, etc. Even though it is cheaper to have work done in the developing world, she does not & will not use the services of companies from outside the UK because:

• there are niche companies in the UK with highly skilled workers that can meet her 'one off' briefs & quality.
• it is important to support British Industry & keep these skills alive.
• Chantal prefers to pay more to have a better level of control over the quality of the work & people she does business with.
• with limited resources it would be impossible to know exactly who was working on a client's commission & where? If the working environment was suitably clean, smoke & odour free, let alone if the person doing the work was paid a living wage, let alone a wage that reflects their skill.

With a view to the growing public interest in the political facets of the fashion industry, it is Chantal's intention over the next few months to find out from the fabric merchants she does business with about how much they know about the fabric suppliers they do business with. A lot of the silks available are of Indian & Chinese origin, though often there are European alternatives. If you choose to commission a Chantal Mallett gown & have concerns about the origin of fabrics, your gown's carbon footprint, etc. Please do mention these to Chantal when you book in for your consultation. If Chantal can offer you a viable solution, even if it requires a little research, she will.

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