THE MAGIC TOUCH
Phillipa Lepley is renowned for her ability to create a dress with exquisite, intricate and bespoke embellishment. The embroidery and embellishments on her dresses have become a design signature, and one of the reasons why Phillipa Lepley at No.46-48 Fulham Road has become the go-to destination for a couture gown. From French lace with hand-embroidered pearls and custom diamanté detail, to a hand-draped silk-tulle bodice adorned with crystal and rose gold embroidery, these artisanal touches take a tailored dress to the next level of beauty.
THE EMBROIDERY PROCESS
Once the shape and style of dress have been chosen, the bespoke embroidery process can begin. Our clients can include the most personal of touches, whether that be an embroidered initial or special symbol or completely new embroidery across the whole dress. Working with the Head of Embellishment, a client can personalise every detail, from the tones of the thread to the placement on the body.
THE PAPER DOLL
Once a bespoke swatch has been approved, the embroidery design is drawn out by hand or developed digitally in the London Atelier, then scanned in and printed on a miniature scale. It is handcrafted into a beautiful Phillipa Lepley ‘paper doll’, allowing the client to envision the scale, placement and flow of the final design in 3D. Once approved, this is gifted to the client and the embroidery can begin.
“Phillipa Lepley is couture mastership at its best. Every stitch, every seam, every embellishment was designed and engineered to make me look my very best.”
PEERLESS CRAFTSMANSHIP
Panels of fabric are placed within a ‘frame’ to gently pull it tight and secure, like a blank sheet of paper. A circular embroidery hoop is used by a seamstress to sew a small, detailed motif onto some fabric. The seamstresses expertly hide all the joins in the panels so that the whole dress looks like one piece of fabric. Various techniques are used to bring the embellishment to life and motifs are digitally manipulated to ensure the most flattering placement on the body. Every detail is intentional and considered.
TRADITIONAL COUTURE TECHNIQUE
Tambour beading creates a superior finish for beaded gowns; this French technique is now rarely used in British ateliers as it requires a very high level of experience and skill. Beads are held underneath the fabric and a hook is inserted from above, to pull the beads onto the fabric. For fine-detail threadwork, we first establish the best approach; a small delicate flower may require a simple satin stitch, while a bold corded motif may need a specialist ‘wrapping technique’.
CONTEMPORARY COUTURE
A new Phillipa Lepley embroidery design combines stitches in an entirely new way; petals in detached chain stitch, stems and leaves in stem stitch, flower centers in French knots, and petals in bullion stitch. We are constantly pushing the boundaries of couture and blending modern innovation with traditional, and now rare, couture handwork.
HAND-EMBROIDERED VEILS
Bespoke embroidery and embellishments have become a design signature on Phillipa Lepley’s veils too. From initials monogrammed onto the veil to favourite flowers cascading down silk tulle or specific symbols recreated in the embroidery, brides can work with the Atelier team to create a completely personalised veil. Veils can add, to what might otherwise be quite a traditional look, a feeling of whimsy and romance.
“The way that Phillipa’s team can blend a beautiful design with your own personal style is unlike anything I have seen before.”
A special look at a bespoke gold lace and hand-embroidered veil.
Refined over several months, the veil was crafted using very fine, gold French Chantilly lace and featured unique hand-embroidery of Roses, Florence Lily and Lily of the Valley florals and the family’s Coat of Arms in tonal gold threadwork and pearls.
The embroidery was carried out entirely by hand using extremely specialist couture techniques due to the lace’s delicate nature a true labour of love with only small sections able to be hand-worked on at a time.
