Ethics & Sustainability

I have always opted to use components of the highest quality possible in creating my designs – I want your dress to feel incredible against your skin and be a real pleasure to wear. Our dresses are unstructured and understated by design, and use extremely high-end luxury fabrics.

Our fabrics: silks and laces

We use a variety of silks sourced from UK suppliers who take their environmental responsibilities seriously. Their sustainability commitment is certified by Bureau Veritas. We try to use GOTS organic silk or peace silk where possible, and will state on a dress’s information page when organic silk has been used. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, options for both organic and peace silks and more limited in finish and colour than standard silks, so we tend to use a combination of all production methods to get the variety we require. This is definitely an area we are continually looking to improve options in, while maintaining our very high quality standards.

Our laces are sourced from long-established companies based in the UK and France, so both come with pleasingly low carbon footprints. The UK factory is ninth-generation family-run, and the French company has been certified as a Living Heritage Company.

Made-to-order means no over production

I tend to design a small new collection of gowns every other year, always with an eye on what has come before, so that the new pieces dovetail beautifully on the studio’s rails alongside the older styles. We only retire designs when we really need to: if it still works, still sells and we can still source the fabric we keep it around. Coupled with the fact that we’re able to advise brides on adapting and reworking the existing styles – by changing sleeves, necklines, fabric combinations etc – this means we have a versatile body of work without creating newness for newness’s sake.

The nature of the way we work means that over-production is never an issue; dresses are made-to-order and fabrics are bought in small batches as required to minimize waste. Fabric offcuts are repurposed into new designs and accessories where possible – like our lingerie edit and our silk hair bows – and the remainder is donated to a local accessory maker and an underwear designer / maker.

Our team and our actions

We are a small team and are staffed solely by women. I pay my staff fair wages, and operate a flexible working approach to fit around their life commitments. The workroom environment is safe and happy, our team is highly skilled and knowledgeable – plus we genuinely love what we do and get along wonderfully together.  

Our cardboard boxes and tissue paper is recycled, our business banking is with Starling who are supremely ethical, and we offset our workforce’s carbon footprint by planting trees monthly with Ecologi – you can view our virtual forest and donate here.

Additionally, I’m lucky enough to be able to walk to and from work every day, after walking my little boy to school. My team get here by combining a train or car journey with a walk, or solely on foot. The studio is located centrally and is a twenty-minute walk from the railway station, making it easily accessible for brides travelling to Sheffield.

We are by no means perfect, and strive to continue improving our working practices and environmental impact as we learn and grow.