Designers Of The Royal Wedding Bridesmaids Dresses!!!

After I featured some of their flower girl dresses on yesterday's Supplier Spotlight ... I'm delighted to say that Nicki Macfarlane have let me tell you a little bit more about them on today's blog and the part that they played in the recent Royal Wedding!
I'm over the moon that they've let me have a copy of the original illustrations for the dresses to show you as well!

Here's a little more information from them about the part they played and how they set up the company....

When Catherine Middleton chose Nicki Macfarlane to design her bridesmaids’ dresses for The Royal Wedding, she would have had no idea that decades earlier, Nicki, then aged 15, had met Prince William’s great grandmother, The Queen Mother. She had been invited to represent her school at St James’ Palace where she received an award for her exquisite needlework!

Nicki’s inspiration for needlework came early in life, influenced by her mother who designed and created beautiful embroidered dresses for her children and also from her time at Heathfield School in Berkshire.
In the 1970s Nicki started her first childrenswear collection under the name ‘Miss Bunch and Mr Moggs’. Then, following the birth of her two daughters, Nicki continued to design and create in a freelance capacity until 2005 when she was asked by a client to design bridesmaids’ dresses for twenty-two children aged between 18 months and four years old.

At this point, Nicki realised that there was a gap in the market for beautiful bespoke bridesmaid and pageboys outfits and hence the brand ‘Nicki Macfarlane’ was born. In the intervening years, Nicki has become highly regarded in the bridal industry for her exquisite designs and use of the best quality fabrics. She works closely with every bride to ensure that each creation is individual, personal and fulfills her dreams. Personal touches set Nicki apart from the competition – each outfit has the bridesmaid’s name hand embroidered on the inside.

In 2009 Nicki’s eldest daughter, Charlotte joined the company. Trained at the London College of Fashion, she also brought with her 15 years experience in the fashion industry, most notably as Managing Director for Lulu Guinness. Together, in response to numerous requests from retailers, they launched their first ready to wear collection in February 2010.

Nicki and Charlotte have recently designed an exclusive capsule collection of dresses for John Lewis, which went in store last month. This season also sees the launch of their first every day childrenswear range, ‘Nicki Macfarlane Blue’ which is a collection of beautifully made, classic clothes for girls and boys aged between one and eight.

Since they were commissioned by Catherine Middleton to create the bridesmaids’ dresses for the Royal Wedding, life has been extremely busy for Nicki and Charlotte. Both have been involved in the creative process, alongside Catherine herself, and have dedicated many hours to hand-stitching the dresses between their homes in Wiltshire and Kent.

For further information visit http://www.nickimacfarlane.com