Liverpool designer Miss Francesca Couture says 'I do' to her first bridal collection

Francesca Kearns first started making dresses at 19 for Liverpool girls wanting glam one-off creations for a night out.

But more than a decade later, the designer is now a mum-of-one and her customers have grown up too, so she’s decided it’s time to take her label in a new direction.

Alongside the going out dresses, Francesca has launched a new bridal collection.

“A lot of our customers have been coming to me since I started so we’ve got to know each other quite closely over the years and I’ve been there for different milestones in their lives,” she explains. “They’re now at that age where they’re thinking about getting married and so I started being asked if we did dresses for brides and bridesmaids.

“At first I wasn’t sure, it’s such a big responsibility, but in the end I thought why not? It gives me a chance to go to the next level creatively and make someone’s dream dress.”

The 31-year-old from West Derby made her first wedding gown for a London fashion blogger and couldn’t have hoped for a better response.

“I’ve made clothes for her before, but she said she’d looked everywhere in London for a bespoke wedding dress and they were either over-the-top expensive or designers just wouldn’t do it,” she says. “We did and she was so happy with the dress and the service, we were really proud of it. We thought, why can’t we do this for everyone?”

Francesca now has a sample collection of 15 styles from which brides-to-be can choose features to create their own unique gown.

Pic: chiffon bridesmaid dresses uk

“We invite our customers to book in, try on some samples and then decide exactly what features they like so their dresses can be made just for them. No two dresses should ever be the same. Lots of girls now are seeing dresses on Pinterest and social media and they want them but can’t find them in bridal shops, so I can help them have the special dress they’ve got in their mind.”

Long-standing relationships with customers means there’s already a feeling of trust, which is all-important in wedding preparations.

“They know they can rely on us, and their dress will be perfect at the end of it,” she says. “And they feel comfortable at every fitting to speak to me and tell me what they want or don’t want, so we get it just right.

“It’s amazing for me to see girls I’ve know for years getting married and to be a part of that. It’s a lovely experience and an honour for me to know that, out of all the thousands of dresses they could have chosen, they want me to make theirs.”

Being in the Metquarter, in the heart of the city centre shops, means Francesca gets plenty of new customers too.

“We’ve opened the bridal studio upstairs from our regular shop, so it’s easy for girls to come in for appointments and it means I can be in two places at once: either in the shop if a customer comes in and wants to speak to me, or upstairs in the studio where all our dresses are made by a team of pattern cutters and machinists.”

With both collections now side-by-side, Francesca says she’s working non-stop. “But it’s what I love to do and I can’t imagine anything else.”

Although she has a long-term partner and 18-month-old daughter Petra, she’s not had first hand experience of wedding planning herself yet.

“I think I’d have to make my own dress, though, otherwise I’d be like a traitor to myself,” she laughs. “I do think I’ll be very demanding if it happens, I don’t think my seamstresses will be too happy with me!”

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