Helen Pollington
Sometimes a chance remark or a set of coincidences can provide remarkable opportunities. I met Helen as a friend of a bride, Katrina, at an appointment at Miss Bush. They were cool girls, we bonded over mutual adoration of Jenny Packham’s Tease, a fabulous, editorial dress that was not an obvious choice. It was named after Dita Von Tease – part 1904s, part dominatrix! During our frock-fest it emerged that they had met via work as fashion technologists; collectively they’ve worked for top end High St brand All Saints and Matches, fashion designer Roland Mouret’s studio & legendary labels Jean Muir and Temperley.
Ever the opportunist, & recognising the serendipity of coming across two women of such rare ability; fashion savvy & in their early 30s, I pitched the idea of working freelance for Miss Bush. At this point I was thinking alteration & fitting. Helen was free to join us on a part time basis & by the time she had cut me a bespoke funnel-necked top from a vague description & a scrawl of sketch I was smitten.
The idea of creating exclusive brands for Miss Bush has always hugely appealed to me. Not because I don’t love our designers, I very much do. I also love the idea of a small, agile in house team that could work on the Zara principle of updating collections quickly to respond to swift trend changes. Miss Bush occupies a niche position in bridal retail with what marketers call ‘early adopters’ as clients. Briefly, our brides are looking for the newest, freshest looks. They wore strapless first; separates first; while the world wore only prevailing swirls & strapless our clients channelled sleek lines with neat sleeves.
What I saw in Helen was a first class cutter, a brilliant technician but crucially the desire to work collaboratively & creatively to create one off pieces, small runs of very cool dresses.
What Miss Bush offers is a test track. Our clients are discerning & creative. I can put dresses in front of the most stylish brides and can bring the attention of the wider wedding industry. My aim our labels to be exclusive but with the capacity for growth.
I called in Tanya Jago of Bureau to work on a brand identity for Helen Pollington. I wanted to create a statement that this was a brand in it’s own right.
I am very proud of the Miss Bush reputation but I would love to collaborate on designs that have a reach beyond Ripley. I want a the provenance and the craftsmanship to be recognised and above else give Helen the exposure she deserves.
As with all projects this is going to the wire, the launch is on Tuesday. The mad adrenalin rush to create not only a premises launch but two label launches is ambitious. I like a challenge. I can’t wait to roll out the work of Helen, Tanya & Katrina (for she has press been press ganged into the team too) to show you how fabulous they are. Look out for the images, look out for the film, watch these names.
Laurie Smith
Frankly, the daily battle with the inbox is a chore. As soon as you answer an email the reply comes back and it brings it’s friends for good measure. I am old enough to remember, and it is but a six short years ago, not having proper functioning email. Occasionally through the mountain of lovely, but time consuming correspondence comes a squeaky, squealy, missive that begs immediate attention.
‘I used to work with Allison Blake ( an brilliant, retired designer) & I have just left Philippa Lepley – please find my CV…’ Literally as I finished reading I was hitting reply. This is the CV of a couture seamstress that has worked at the very pinnacle of British Bridal. How could one Bush be so lucky? I arranged an immediate meeting with Laurie to join us as a fitter and seamstress. Fast forward to the weeks leading up to Brides the Show, The Boudicca Shoot & Bryony Toogood, Fashion Editor of Brides call sheet for fashion show dresses and I witnessed Laurie’s skill at first hand. Her black & white theatrical bustle was the talking point of the award winning Miss Bush exhibition stand, her Laverne dress, with sleek lines and an elaborate bustle opened the runway show.
I knew instinctively that my brides would love Laurie’s pedigree & the classic elegant lines of her gowns. The Laverne dress was trialled in the shop & the fit was astounding. Laverne will appear in the launch along with other interpretations of classic with a twist dresses.
Laurie’s brand identity has been created by Tanya Jago, cleverly using a slant font. This is what innovative bridal design is all about, refreshing classic lines & fabrics with new slants. Combining beloved traditions & skills with our desire for novelty & originality.
From her precision bob to her neat as a pin wardrobe, Laurie is the embodiment of her understated style. I have made no secret of missing some of the ‘personalities’ in wedding dress design. Whilst the manufacturing behemoths do a brilliant job bringing style across the board I love to ‘know’ the face behind the label, the woman behind the brand.
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Look out for more posts over the next few days, including Tanya’s design case study of the two brands and a fun interview with Helen.
Emma xxx
Emma Meek, MD of Miss Bush Bridalwear
Miss Bush Bridalwear is Surrey’s leading designer bridal shop
