The Story of the Atelier
CRAFTED IN ENGLAND
Since the very beginning, when Phillipa Lepley set up her bridal design business in 1986 from a small atelier in South Kensington, the designer has made every single dress in England. Her first dedicated space was in Fulham, where her team operated for nearly 20 years, before relocating to where they are now – just round the corner from The Shop and The Conservatory in the heart of Chelsea.
EXPERT HANDS
A small, expert team of seamstresses, cutters and embellishers work together at the Phillipa Lepley Atelier, creating bespoke dresses for clients from start to finish. Each member of the team has a strong technical knowledge of fabrics, garment design and construction, a meticulous eye for detail and impeccable customer service. They each play their own part in the ‘jigsaw’ (or ‘frocksaw’ as Phillipa calls it), bringing to life each and every couture dress in glorious style.
CHAMPIONING COUTURE
Phillipa is one of the last remaining independent wedding dress and eveningwear designers in traditional couture. She is proud to make dresses in England which travel all over the globe with her international clients. She nurtures the incredible talent her team possesses, incorporating traditional couture techniques such as tambour beading, appliqué and her internationally renowned corsetry.
THE FINEST FABRICS
Many of the bespoke fabrics the Atelier team uses are made exclusively for Phillipa Lepley. They are of the highest quality and sourced globally, from duchess satin which hails from Lake Como to a special brocade from an English mill. The Atelier team also creates fabrics in-house, hand-stitching together individual pieces of lace to form pieces of art and hiding seams with unique skill, and design bespoke embroideries and embellishments; on this latter point, these have become a design signature, and are one of the reasons why Phillipa Lepley has become the go-to Atelier for a couture dress. Each can take hundreds of hours of careful planning and meticulous, skilled execution.
“The atelier team would sometimes move buttons by a single millimetre, but that would make all of the difference.”
THE PETITS MAINS
At the heart of the Phillipa Lepley Atelier are the ‘petit mains’ – the skilled, precise hands of artisans dedicated to the craft of couture garment-making, hands that whisper magic through every stitch, drape, and bead. Each is an expert in their craft: from the seamstress who has perfected years of hand-appliqué and the cutter who understands the grain of silk to the artisan who carefully places every bead by hand.
Together, they breathe life into sumptuous fabrics and delicate lace, creating gowns that embody timeless elegance. Every Phillipa Lepley couture dress is woven by hands that have honed their skill over time, preserving couture techniques for generations to come. As Phillipa herself says, craftsmanship is the heartbeat of everything we do, and to witness these hands at work is a true privilege.
“I am passionate about British design. I am fortunate to work with the most talented people who are as inspired as I am to see dresses designed and made here in England, supporting and strengthening the UK’s reputation for unparalleled fashion design and manufacturing.”
