Well I have to say that today, I feel a little bit like a bridal Santa, bringing festive treats, even if I am a little bit early! I’ve got the huge pleasure of introducing you to a designer that you might not have heard of before but goodness me, I feel sure that by the end of this feature, you’ll want to know more.
Dear readers, let’s welcome Catriona Garforth to Love My Dress right now. The Catriona Garforth brand is the creation of award-winning designer Catriona Garforth-Dev.
From her studio in Edinburgh, Catriona and her team hand-draft patterns and hand-make these beautiful vintage-inspired wedding gowns that can be described with one word – stunning. Catriona’s mantra is ‘life is too short to dress dull’ and to that, I say a huge hurrah.
“I design for the bride who wants to express her own individual style and not conform to tradition,” says Catriona. “Bringing vintage into the 21st Century, my gowns are feminine and show of the body with beautiful, draping silhouettes.”
“I’ve been designing for over 10 years, first specialising in eveningwear. I sold through my own boutique and then wholesale before I moved into bridal in 2011. We launched in 2014 as By Catriona and have now rebranded the label as Catriona Garforth.”
So, what should you expect from Catriona’s label? Well, she happily admits that she loves the 1920s and is inspired by sparkles, femininity and decadence so you’ll notice plenty of glamorous Gatsby styling cues in the collections. Her latest, Illuminate, gives a vintage twist to the bridal separates trend and there are so many delicious details to discuss.
I love the stripped back simplicity of Lulu and Sadie – the heavy lace on the crop top of Sadie and the ridiculously romantic flowing skirt, Lulu, are just sublime and provide such a perfect contrast to each other. Kaela and Rayana are another bridal top/skirt pairing to love. Just take a look at the beading and embellishment on that top and oh, those sleeves, I swoon. There’s also a touch of slinky sex appeal to that skirt too. What a combination!
Catriona certainly knows how to design a statement back too and given my weak spot for low backed gowns, I just have to mention these designs too. Tabitha is a super low backed design, framed with exquisite lace and the V back on Kamila, combined with those long sleeves and flowing skirt just works perfectly. From a previous collection, Eirenne is a sure favourite. That low cowl back and strong 1920s style is giving me all the feels. All of them I tell you.
“We spend a lot of time during our production to make sure the fit of the garment is flattering and, more importantly, figure-hugging and shaped to the body. We hand make all our garments in-house so each piece has its own personal touch added too it.”
Vintage-inspired, utterly glamorous, exquisitely designed, beautifully made and truly personal – what could be better? I really don’t think I need to answer that do I?
To find out more about wedding gowns by Catriona Garforth, do take a look at her website. Here you can find out more about the label, check stockists and browse the latest collections. I also recommend that you watch the videos too – they’re so beautiful!
Love,
Tamryn x
