I’m so inspired by the red carpet gowns at Cannes for my own dress line
Hello everyone!!
Thank you so much for reading my blog and for leaving your comments, they’ve been so lovely to read, especially the recent ones about our dress line. They’ve been extremely encouraging, particularly as I’ve been feeling a little frazzled over the last week and so in need of a good energy boost. As my mum would say I’ve definitely been burning the candle at both ends, learning lines, performing with the Emmerdale band, travelling to London, having dress fittings and design meetings and trying to build our business, whilst of course being a wife and mummy. Oh the perils of being a modern day woman! I’m starting to feel really ready for my holiday to Dubai, which thankfully is only a few weeks away. I’ve splurged on a few nice treats for my trip as since I went on honeymoon (a whole 6 years ago) I now have a thing where I can’t go away without a couple of shiny new bits and bobs e.g. make up, handbag, bikinis, beach wear etc AND I have to dress appropriately for the airport and plane, which for most sensible people is comfortably, however for me it’s anything that Joan Collins would deem to be acceptable i.e. heeled shoes, huge sunglasses, smart/casual dress and a little pashmina (in case I get a bit chilly…of course). In my head I’m totally sashaying around like 1950′s Elizabeth Taylor, however in reality I probably look a little bit worse for wear with grubby hand prints all over me, baby wipes hanging out of my pocket and shin and heel bruises from where I’ve walked into Freddie’s pram, still I refuse to give in to dropping my standards of Joan Collinsness and so will persevere with trying to be incredibly glamorous….(I’ll let you know how I get on with it).
As I said it’s been a manic week or so, with the highlight being seeing Eden Taylor-Draper (Emmerdale‘s Belle Dingle) in our first Enais Chapman gown. It was an incredibly special moment as Eden had chosen us to design her prom dress, which I felt was a real privilege as proms have become extremely popular in the UK over the last 10 years and choosing the right prom dress has become nearly as important as choosing the right wedding dress. I suppose you could say the prom dress is a ‘coming of age dress’ and that’s exactly what it was for Eden. I along with the rest of the country have watched Eden play Belle Dingle for the last decade. She’s grown from being a tiny, cute little girl with a cheeky smile into a beautiful, elegant and truly talented young lady and so to be part of that moment in time when she’s saying goodbye to her schooldays and embarking on the next chapter of her life was truly special. Needless to say we all had a little tear, and I have to say it was the most lovely, rewarding feeling when she said how much she loved the gown and how amazing she felt in it. It was also wonderful to get such a positive response from her parents as designing for a 16-year-old can be a little daunting. Obviously you want to keep the client happy, but at the same time reassure the parents that you’re not going to put them in something more appropriate for the Moulin Rouge. I hope you’ll agree that Eden looked absolutely stunning and we were all very proud of her.
As the Soap Awards are drawing nearer we’ve also been doing numerous fittings as we are dressing a few girls (including myself) for the event. I love doing fittings as that’s when you see a dress really take shape and work with a person’s body. It’s so important to get the right fit, that extra half inch really does make all the difference and you can always tell the moment the perfect fit happens as suddenly the person who you’re fitting totally changes the way they carry themselves. They become more confident and they stand upright with their spine elongated which looks really elegant. Essentially this is what Kate and I want to capture as we want every woman who wears one of our dresses to feel – strong, confident and elegant. I really can’t wait until we open our online boutique and present our collection to the general public. Only 2 weeks to go!!
It’s an extremely glamorous time of year as obviously we’ve just had the Met Ball held in New York and now the Cannes Film Festival is under way. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful gowns that will be showcased on the red carpet over the next few days. Kate and I will be watching with an extremely close eye as these events provide us with so much inspiration when designing pieces for our collections. I think my favourite look from last year was Cara Delevigne at the premiere of The Great Gatsby movie. I thought she looked incredible, the jewels, the dress, the make-up were all perfect and really channelled old Hollywood in an extremely modern way. Everything that I like!
Whilst obviously prepping for the Awards with Kate and overseeing the art direction for our branding, I also travelled to London this week for a couple of meetings regarding the development of the label into next year, which was very exciting. I really enjoy the business aspect of building a company and admire women like Karen Brady and Michelle Mone, who are incredibly strong, intelligent women who built their own hugely successful companies at a young age and are now incredibly influential in the business world. This is definitely my kind of girl power and something that one day I hope to have myself. Speaking of girl power I’m also a huge fan of Victoria Beckham and find her transition from pop star to fully-fledged designer incredibly inspiring. Building a company whilst being a mother to four children is an amazing achievement and so I have huge admiration for her.
Anyway I’m going to stop talking now and say hope you all have a lovely weekend and speak again soon.
Love Natalie Xx