"The best part of what I do is seeing the happiness on the face of a Bride when I have brought their dream gown to life. Followed by being my own boss and doing what I love every day!" Anna - Anna Dutton Couture
Mackay based bridal couture designer Anna Dutton Couture offers their Brides a personalised journey from the first meeting and sketching of the gown, to creating every part of that gown with love through 3 fittings to the final product on the Wedding Day. "I also pride myself on the cut and fit of my gowns, evolving my techniques to ensure there are no fit issues on the day. If the Bride is getting married locally I will personally attend on the date to ensure the gown is correctly put on and generally make sure the Bride is calm and ready to walk down the aisle. So many of my Brides now have destination Weddings so I only attend a handful a year now." Anna says.
"I always have always loved luxurious fabrics and the excitement surrounding Weddings! I think the love of Bridal was passed to me from my mother and all the years watching her as a small child working with her Brides, playing with scrap fabrics and watching her create. As I got older she gave me small things to help with and I started sketching, drafting patterns, making dolls clothes which lead to clothes for myself, and friends and I used to make school uniforms in my school holidays for a local company as well as supply my range of clothing and Bridal to a number of local stores as well as taking custom commissions." Anna shares.
So Anna Dutton Couture was really born when I was 15 years old and still in High School, although I traded under a different name until 2013 when I decided to re-brand to Anna Dutton Couture which was a symbol of my evolution of a designer over the years. As the daughter of a Bridal designer I have known fabrics and gowns since I was a small child. My mother taught me so much but I have also grown and evolved my own style and techniques over the years. As a small child I remember mum taking me into a local fabric store and I would purchase lace instead of toys with my pocket money.
Custom couture pricing can be similar to the cost of purchasing a gown and having it altered to suit your needs a lot of the time or it can be more expensive depending on what you want. Comparing a mass produced gown to custom couture is like comparing apples and oranges. With a custom gown that one of a kind garment is crafted especially for you to fit your body perfectly and you have a say in everything from the style, colour and fabric. The way a couture gown is constructed is quite different to a gown mass produced in a factory- with fit being one of the big things next to fabric quality and choices and where the gown has been made. I am very big on supporting Australian made and supporting local business where I can.
My favourite style of Bridal would have to be Avant Garde where you can be as big and bold as you would like, I love embellishing and detailing and using stunning fabrics, however, most of my client work is modern and classic Bridal which is what is requested. A few times a year you will get a Bride who wants a coloured, or big and highly detailed gown. I've created a number of bold coloured Avant Garde Bridal styles which has helped to create my brand image and gives my work that point of difference."
