* Alan Hannah is delighted to offer any bride buying
an Alan Hannah or MiaMia dress who takes this Love My Dress article to the retailer, a
complementary piece of Alan Hannah jewellery and a personalised
illustration of their chosen dress.
We would also like to offer all Love My Dress readers a 20% discount from our
wedding accessories website until the end of January 2013.
Just quote 'LMDDDED12' at checkout *
I'm so so proud of Love My Dress. Now in it's fourth year of existence, there is always more I want to do, ways I want to make things even better to enhance the reader experience, but thanks to Franky and my amazing team of regular contributors, I really feel we've developed an inspirational, informative, helpful and all-round beautiful wedding blog over the past twelve months.
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Alan Hannah
I've always loved featuring the work of designers, from the one-man artisan creating exquisite beading in their back bedroom-come studio, to the more established international designer - one thing you will always find in common is that the bridal wear designers we focus on each create exquisite, timeless, glamorous designs - they aren't afraid to update the timeless silhouettes of the past into something more modern, contemporary and appealing to today's bride, but ultimately, they completely understand body shape and what makes women go beautiful.
They 'get' that wow factor when it comes to wedding dresses.
I'm absolutely thrilled this morning to introduce you to our new sponsor, Alan Hannah.
Alan Hannah is a husband and wife partnership, Alan and Marguerite Hannah. I started the label in 1989, designing and making bridal headpieces. Marguerite joined me after I persuaded her to design some bridesmaids and wedding gowns for the Alan Hannah label.
Marguerite had trained as a couturier in Cyprus where she created evening-wear and bridal gowns as commissions. The gowns quickly became very successful and over the years Marguerite has created a very well respected and eclectic styling and in the process has won designer of the year on 5 occasions. All our Alan Hannah gowns are designed by Marguerite and made in our own workrooms. Some of the ladies who work for us have been with us for 20 years and we also have a really inspiring young team who work really well with the more experienced seamstresses.
We have a workroom and showroom in North London where all the dresses are created and where we can see our retailers.
We supply around 40 specialist bridal boutiques throughout the UK - we like to work with retailers who are passionate about individual and hand crafted fashion and understand that our brides are looking for something which is not mass produced and can be customised and made to measure.
We also work with a family of bridal boutiques in Japan which has been a very successful and enjoyable partnership for us over the past 15 years. The owner visited us for the first time in our very small studio to buy for her very small shop. She has now developed a beautiful selection of 20 stores throughout Japan but still loves to visit us and develop special styles with us which are designed to suit the Japanese figure.
Japanese people really hold British design and technical heritage in high regard. Marguerite creates all her own patterns for her designs and has really perfected the requirements of the Japanese figure over the years. Our Japanese brides love our hand painted techniques and aren’t afraid to use colour and drama. We work together with a really talented artist in Madrid who hand paints every dress individually.
Working with Japan has really given us a different perspective and stretched the creative boundaries of what we do.
I was keen to know how the Alan Hannah label was born, and Marguerite told me; 'The collections have evolved over time. Bridal Fashion moves less dramatically than main fashion but I am always struggling to push forward the barriers. Retailers often like to stick with ideas which they are familiar with and often we use our advertising campaigns to push forward into new territory. If we don't take chances and always move forward the job would be futile and unfulfilling. We would never be in this business if it meant sticking to a formula.'
'I have always admired classic designs of Madeleine Vionnet as the original genius of bias cut dresses. Dior is so influential in bridal styling that it hardly needs stating, as well as contemporary designers like Alexander McQueen who was so imaginative and natural in his use of fabrics and creative cut. Oscar de la Renta's old school execution and styling is almost flawless at times and each collection seems better than the last. Being a technician as well as a designer I cant help being obsessed by the cut and finish of a garment and I just can't be happy with something which is not informed by a real technical expertise.
For atmosphere, I really love the new Dolce and Gabbana campaign shot in Sicily. Being of Mediterranean island origin, the aura it creates really makes me feel nostalgic and warm. Very theatrical but with a heartfelt fondness for our village forebears. I always return to my village home in Cyprus each year and find that the warmth and sun make me feel so inspired to design that I end up sitting on the terrace sketching for most of the time.
I have just returned from a short break in Vienna where I was immersed in my obsession with the work of Gustav Klimt. Klimt’s dramatic use of colour really inspires me.'
'The Alan Hannah bride is confident, independent and style conscious. She is very aware of quality and individuality and doesn't want something generic and mass produced. Some of our brides love our very classic look, for instance our Ellie and Chryso gowns but others prefer our more vintage influenced styles like Lottie and Veronique (watch out later in the week for these dresses gracing the Love My Dress blog pages).
Our MiaMia label (picutred in this blog post today) also gives me the chance to design a more bohemian and perhaps younger look, dresses like Briar and Mulberry for instance.'
So what can you expect if you are smitten with these designs and keen to book in for an appointment at an Alan Hannah stockist or the London flagship store?
'A bride who orders one of our gowns will be treated as an individual whose dress will be made to order for her. If she needs a special made to measure size this will be available. If the bride wants to have her dress with customisation such as more or less beading, a different shape skirt etc this can also be done. We want our boutiques to be able to offer a near couture service at a realistic price.
I love when a brand is proud to be British and proud to manufacture in Britain too. To me, that show's commitment not only to the customer, in terms of the best quality, but to the amazing industry of artisan crafts people we have in the UK who are more than capable and full of enough talent to, together, produce the type of rival wear that equals the quality of that manufactured in any Parisian couture house.
The exquisite MiaMia collection by Alan Hannah, pictured here today, is available for between between £1000 and £1800 - other Alan Hannah designs retail for between £1700 and £3000. Which is your favourite? Later this week, I'll be featuring the Alan Hannah 'Classic Beauty' collection for you to enjoy in all it's lacy and beautiful fitted, elegant glory.
Don't forget too, that if you print off this feature and take it to an Alan Hannah stockist and place an order a a result of your visit, you will receive a complementary piece of Alan Hannah jewellery and a personalised illustration of their chosen dress.
Alan Hannah is also very kindly offering all Love My Dress readers a 20% discount from our wedding accessories website until the end of January 2013 - just quote 'LMDDDED12' at checkout.
For further information, take a moment to visit the Alan Hannah website. You can also find Alan Hannah on Facebook and Twitter and a list of stockists is available here.
Much love all,
Annabel
