Bridal Fashion / May 01, 2016

Puttin’ On The Ritz: A Glamorous, Exclusive Evening Introducing The Beautiful 2017 Halfpenny London Collection

written by Emily Brown

Entering the iconic Ritz London in my very shiny shoes, sporting my most serious topknot, iPhone in hand and a giddy little skip in my step, I felt utterly exhilarated (and more than a socially acceptable amount of excited).

All photography supplied by Halfpenny London

halfpenny london 2017 ritz london

A very lovely gentleman from the hotel escorted me to the decadent 18th century William Kent House (I could almost see the intense internal struggle as he clocked I was too short and owl-like to be a model but still politely asked me if I was heading upstairs to change – love you Mr Ritz man) where I was met with a megawatt smile and a massive hug by the lady of the hour, the gorgeous Kate Halfpenny.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

On Tuesday evening this wonderful creative force, and one of our brilliant sponsors, invited guests to an exclusive and totally glamorous sneak peak of her 2017 collection, launched in collaboration with Brides Magazine.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Those of you who joined me for the Instagram takeover on the Love My Dress account saw the action live and were treated to a few VERY special backstage, behind the scenes snaps (we were the only blog allowed behind those top secret closed doors!).

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Kate’s show-stopping new designs showed versatility, quality and all round gorgeousness in every way imaginable; hand-beading, fanciful feathers, luxurious silks and satins, delicate lace and of course some ravishing backless numbers.

 

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Few designers can truly offer something for every bride, and Kate does just that – from traditional tulle ballgowns to sexy sheath dresses. And all this 100% made in good old Blighty.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Guests enjoyed Grey Goose Le Fizz cocktails and scrumptious canapés before settling down for the main event – a flower-filled, dramatic, perfectly executed bridal catwalk of epic proportions.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

No fewer than 48 looks sashayed their way down the grand floral staircase, beautifully created by Paul Thomas, through a sequence of ornately decadent rooms lined with awe-struck brides-to-be.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Each and every model looked more sensational than the last – Kate and her team (blooming lovely bunch by the way) selected a gorgeously diverse dozen to display the designs and I overheard more than one girl backstage saying she was making notes for her future wedding.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Beautiful make-up was applied by the Laura Mercier team and hair styling provided by Edward James London. The models were crowned with luxuriously glittering hairpieces by the freshly launched Tilly Thomas Lux (designer Sally is a lovely fellow Yorkshire lass) – I honestly lost count of the number of audible gasps as vision after vision floated down the staircase catwalk. Even more sparkle came from the beautiful jewels generously loaned by Ritz Fine Jewellery.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

And what a staircase it was! Paul Thomas and his team created the most incredible floral grand entrance for Kate’s wonderful dresses in shades of pink, purple and blue. I can neither confirm nor deny that Kate was seen leaving the Ritz with a massive lilac plant tucked under her arm!

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.Lucky bride-to-be Louisa Hunt was the winner of the hotly anticipated competition – £2,000 towards a Halfpenny London gown! As I’m sure you can imagine, when I asked lovely (very shell shocked but excited) Louisa if she had any favourites from the catwalk she looked at me like I was a little bit crazy – I know, I wouldn’t like to have to make that decision either.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

I hope you adore the collection as much as I do dear readers, I can only imagine the swathes of eager brides who’ll be flocking to Kate’s Bloomsbury boutique over the coming months – will you be one of them? Let me give you a helping hand – click here to make your appointment.

The new 2017 collection by Halfpenny London - presented at The Ritz, in association with Brides Magazine.

Let us know your favourite design in the comments box below and join me in showing a huge amount of love and appreciation for the incredibly talented, immensely creative, downright lovely, Kate Halfpenny. Check out her very own wedding on the blog right here and you’ll see exactly what I mean about that amazing smile.

Love Em x

 

Halfpenny London is a sponsor of Love My Dress

Emily Brown

Emily Brown View all Emily's articles

Emily covets all things Scandinavian and loves travelling, modern art, learning languages and living with her brand new husband and a collection of house plants as a Northerner in London

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Image courtesy of Maja Tsolo

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