Melbourne wedding dress designer Anna Campbell took up residence in her airy new boutique just over a month ago. Moving down the road, and still remaining on the iconic bridal shopping strip of High Street Armadale, Anna took next-to-no time in christening the new space by clinking flutes of Peacock Lane by Samantha Wills sparkling and toasting to an in-house runway reveal of her latest collection.
Speaking about her beloved former store the designer explains “It was beautiful. But it was kind of round the corner and then a bit of this and then that and then it went upstairs and then downstairs. I just wanted a big, open, beautiful space and the ceilings here are so high.”
This fresh start has also been a time for experimentation with the label’s designs. Testing the waters with previous collection ‘Forever Entwined’, Anna offered two styles that would come with a range of skirt options – a level of customisation previously only exclusive to her made-to-measure gowns.
“We found that a bride would or wouldn’t choose a dress because of it. The bride who fell in love with that dress because it was fuller, was the same bride who fell in love with it because it was more fitted. It was the idea of one dress, multiple options.”
Expanding upon this idea, the dresses in Anna Campbell’s new ‘Spirit’ range will offer up to six skirt silhouettes per dress; be it a slimline fit, a cascading silk tulle or a beaded drop skirt. “Whether it suits the style of her wedding, flatters her body more or suits her budget more – whatever reason it is – she can get the dress that she will love,” muses Anna.
The changes don’t end there. Silk tulle skirts and an additional bone colour have come to ready-to-wear for the first time. The ‘Spirit’ collection is also the most embellished, the most fitted and features the biggest skirts the label has ever attempted.
“We’ve done a silk organza full skirt which is so beautiful,” explains Anna, “there’s one dress ‘Scarlet’ that features that as part of the dress and we’ve also made it as a separate. So a bride who loves a really slimline, silky silhouette can put on the big damn skirt for the ceremony”.
There’s one thing that Anna is sure will never change: her style of bride. “They’re all having these weddings in a winery or on the beach or in a beautiful garden or in their Mum and Dad’s backyard or in a field…and they’re not influenced by this Aunty or that Grandma or have to please people and sit people on this table. They’re kind of free spirits and they fall in love.” Thus the ‘Spirit’ collection is inspired by the idea that a brides’ inner self is what shines above all else on her wedding day.
All images by Simon L. King
Ms Chinoiserie Says: Love all the exquisite embellishments; a beautiful collection Anna!
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