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My name is Chantal &
I specialise in creating made to measure, one off gowns
designed
specifically for each client - the service I provide is the
ultimate couture experience:
I have a file of design sketches 2 inches
thick & a highly unusual array of fabrics samples to choose
from, your final design may involve, the use of silks, velvets, lace,
printing, embroidery, appliqué, beading with Swarovski crystal
components or pearls & other beads or the subtle addition of
tiny Swarovski crystals called hotfix which look wonderful applied
like a shimmer of jewels to light, transparent fabrics like
georgette's.
There are no
more costs involved to have a completly new design created for you
than to order a gown like one of my samples or very similar to one of
my sample designs.
The samples
in the Gowns Portfolio serve as inspiration, each design I have chosen
to make up fills a gap in my collection. Yes, it is a beautiful design
in it's own right but it also serves to show brides a different type
of fabric made up, a new sleeve, new trimmings, new neckline, new
skirt; that the bride can try on to help cement her own vision of her
perfect dress.
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I make up each commission myself, nothing is sent to
outworkers. There are also hours of hand work involved in the creation
of a couture gown, much of which is on the inside of the corsets &
never seen.
I am a Couture Designer
first & foremost but a designer who chooses to continue to
make up the commissions herself, so as to have complete control
over the commission from start to finish & maintain true
couture standards.
I detest the use of outworkers
used by many designers, some of whom do not even possess the
skills to fashion their own creations from initial design through
to completion. I am also therefore, by default, a couture
dressmaker & I believe there is no reason, other in the
pursuit of more financial rewards, why the designer should
not also be the person who creates the vision - the design can
alter & grow all the way through the commission & there is
no one more qualified to create a gown than the designer
themselves.
I pride myself on being able to
follow through from even the wildest design concepts on paper, to
a design that looks like the original design sketch without
needing to rely on a team of highly skilled cutters, seamstresses
& beaders without whom, for some 'designers', there would be
no finished product. In my mind, if you do not understand how to
cut & construct your idea, you cannot truly call yourself a
designer.
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As part of the service I provide, clients can seek my
advice as a designer & stylist on the rest of the bridal party's
outfits, hair & make-up, flowers, jewellery & accessories etc.
 My
gowns are created in house at my studio in the UK.
Please note: Many designer &
manufacturer gowns being sold in the UK are not made here but are made
in China. Furthermore: In some stores MADE TO MEASURE
does not mean 'made to measure' & can mean made to a standard size
in China & altered here.
Please pan down to the bottom of the page to read
more.
So to answer the most frequently asked
questions:
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Can a gown be made in
another colour?
Yes, providing the fabric you want
comes in that colour or we can source an alternative.
Can I change the skirt
style? Most typically these questions relate to having a
smaller full skirt & less 'fitted' straighter skirt than the
fishtail
Yes, there are many skirt options
we can discuss most of which can be adapted to suit both your
figure, without compromising the overall design.
Can I have something different to
the gowns on the site?
Absolutely! Please do, I can share
ideas & brain storm with you, until the cows come
home.
However
that said, please don't ask me to copy other people's work &
I do not make up designs a bride has designed herself, though
obviously I will work with her to encompass her ideas into
a one off design. If you have something you have completely
designed yourself, you will need to find an appropriately
skilled dressmaker or coutumier, whichever seems appropriate or
a designer who is not so precious about making up
designs that are not their own.
The
way of working showcased by Project Runway / Project
Catwalk where by, on the wedding dress episodes, the
models hand the designer a sketch & say 'make me this',
in no way reflects the reality of working with a designer
& is not how the process works. Those episodes are both
cringe worthy & embarrassing to watch. Neither do we trot
off to Berwick Street with our clients to pay retail for the
cloth, we have a much larger selection of samples &
shade cards from the UK silk suppliers. Project Runway /
Project Catwalk
reflected how
the process works with a dressmaker, this is not what you should
expect from a designer.
* The world is
your oyster.
* The sky your
limit.
*
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PRICES & TIMESCALES:
My gowns start from £2300
for straighter styles & £3500 for full skirted designs (subject to change witout notice).
Gown prices include all consultations,
fabrics & necessary fittings & there are no
additional fees to have a gown designed especially for
you.
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If you are thinking of having a unique dress designed for you,
the gowns in my 'Gowns Portfolio' should be used as guide prices. These
reflect the realistic price you would expect to pay for something to
be made with a similar level of hand work, complexity, trim & in
fabrics which are similarly priced.
For example: Two designs, the second a more
elaborate reworking of the
first:
Prayer: |
Elizabeth with straps: |
| Plain silk. |
Silk brocade. |
| Piped seams. |
Hand beaded seams. |
| Some beadwork - hand strung straps &
hand beaded cross. |
More complicated design - especially the
fans for the bust area. |
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Hand strung straps & hand beaded
cross. |
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| Price as is: £3500 |
Price as is:
£4400 |
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When deciding whether to book a consultation, please
apply a realistic budget, based on my advertised prices, to the style
of dress you have in mind. Brides have in the past come to discuss
Damsel, for example, assuming I can create the same dress, for
them, for less than the advertised price or that a different fabric
will shave thousands off the price.
The prices are published
for a reason & I will not work with substandard & unsuitable fabrics to
reduce costs - I have to put my name to that creation & will
not compromise on my high standards & the exclusivity of my work. The gowns are
very fairly priced for the amount of work that goes into them &
superior fit, especially when compared with off the peg dresses (prices for off
the peg designs have risen sharply in the last couple of years).
I make a very limited number
of gowns a year & pride myself on my made-to-measure corseted
gowns fitting like a glove - a fit that is achieved by starting the
gown in the 6 - 8 weeks before the wedding. With this in mind, it is
essential that you contact me as early as possible, so that should you
choose to commission me to make your bridal gown, you can secure the
block in my diary closest to your wedding date.
For weddings dates that
fall between April & September, I advice you book in for a design
consultation a year in advance of your wedding date.
DESIGN
CONSULTATIONS:
To view my collection you
will need to book an appointment for a design
consultation.
What to expect:
We
would normally start the consultation by sitting down & getting to
know eachother over a cup of coffee & whilst you browse through my
portfolios, we chat about your plans, what sort of gown you are after,
what image you had in mind, colours etc. This gives you a chance to see
if we are on the same wave length & could work well together &
gives me an opportunity to find out who you are & what you want
& need from your wedding dress, so that I can best advise &
guide you when you start trying on pieces from the
collection.
You
are free to try on as many gowns as you like during your consultation,
the idea being to find out what design details & design elements you
like & flatter your figure the most.
At
the end of the session we sit down & make some provisional sketches
based on our discussions, look at fabric samples & I will provide
you with a quote.
Consultations generally take anywhere between two &
four hours.
Appointments:
Appointments are avaliable seven days a week, with evening
appointments avaliable on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays. For more
information or to book an appointment, please submit an inquiry via my
contact page or telephone: 01296 661296.
Showroom location:
My
showroom & studio is in Luton, Bedfordshire, five minutes from
junction 11 of the M1 & about forty minutes by Thames Link train
from London.
You
can catch a Thames link train, which runs from Bedford to Brighton, from
the following London Underground stations:
Wimbledon,
Elephant
& Castle,
London Bridge,
Blackfriars,
City
Thameslink,
Farringdon,
King's Cross Thameslink,
Kentish
Town,
West Hamstead Thameslink.
For a complete list of all stations the train calls at
plus timetables, please use this website: www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk
CONSULTATIONS &
FITTINGS - a typical scehdual of
appointments:
Appointment/stage 1) Design
consultation - a design is decided upon & fabrics chosen (sometimes
clients choose to come back for
a second
consultation).
Appointment/stage 2) Measurements are taken & the
finer details of the chosen design discussed.
Appointment/stage 3) A
corset toile will be fitted & alterations noted. A number of design
elements will be checked & fitted.
Appointment/stage 4) The boned
base of the final corset is checked for fit & a number of design
elements will be checked & fitted.
Appointment/stage 5) The
corset, which is partially made up is fitted for a final time. The hem
length of the skirt decided etc.
Appointment/stage 6) The finished
gown is picked up.
Overseas
clients (Clients outside the UK)
Understandably 6 or 7 visits to my
showroom are often not possible for clients living outside of the UK.
Click on my 'Overseas
' link to read about solutions which can reduce the number of
appointments required & number of times you will need to visit the
UK, suggestions on how we can work around your time constraints &
how we can make your visits run as smoothly as possible & be as
productive as possible:
Copyright:
All the gowns & accessories featured on this site are
Chantal Mallett original designs. Both the designs & photographic
images on this web site are copyrighted to Chantal Mallett (unless
otherwise stated).
Cont: Many designers / bridal
stores in London & throughout the United Kingdom are
having their off the peg & 'made to measure' gowns made in
China or other countries like India because labour & fabrics are
cheaper, so when visiting other designers & stores, do not assume
your gown will be made in the UK, do ask questions.
In one London shop a lady was told that
the 'made to measure' £2500 gown she was discussing would be made
in Italy but later on she was told the gown would be made to a
standard size 10 in China & that she would have to pay a further
£400 for alterations - I was told that this store was not the only
one in that street having their gowns made in China though other
stores were honest about it.
The rule of thumb is that fittings are an inherent
part of making to measure as is making the gown to fit an
individuals measurements, altering gowns can loose important details
& fabric is not always avaliable in the right spot to fit
the gown as it should be - altering will never achieve the
same result as made to measure & customers should not accept
it.
This
is a sorry state of affairs, whilst it feels great to order a
made to measure gown from a smart London address, it certainly does
not feel as chic to discover your gown is being shipped in from China
& is no more made to measure than a gown bought from
Debenhams -stores have cut prices but only by compromising on
quality & service. It does however explain why more &
more bridal designers & manufacturers advertising in the bridal
press carry a Union Jack.
To go to
Chantal Mallett's home page click here www.18thcenturycorsets.com
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