Eliza Wyke Couture

Congratulations to first bride of 2020: Denine. Her Valentine’s wedding to Dean was most romantic.

Still banished from the studio, allows me an opportunity to reminisce past exhibitions. These are from the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition in London. Such a good exhibition where the mannequins came to life and talked when you approached them. Too many favourites but I’m a sucker for a Breton...

The sun is shining in Harrogate today and I’m full of the joys of spring dressing. Wedding season is well upon us (it is if you’re hand-making the splendid outfits) and it’s time to start planning what to wear. If you’re like me, you’ll want something versatile to wear again. This printed chiffon dress from B&M Fabrics is perfect for any occasion: heels & hat for a wedding, trainers & denim jacket for relaxed look. This dress has a pleated skirt, with waistband and gathered bodice, and gathered sleeves. All I need now is someone to model this for my website and Muriel Mannequin doesn’t do it justice...

Banished from the studio I decided to head to B&M Fabric’s lovely new store on Kirkgate, Leeds. The bright open space and big windows make fabric selection even easier (not that I need any encouragement) than the shop in the market. I really shouldn’t...

Excitement part two: arrival of a beautiful package of Liberty print silk. Sadly not for me but a mother of the groom later this spring, but a privilege to work with such luxurious fabric.

Exciting day in the studio with arrival of these two black lace samples for a customer. Pleased I don’t have to make the decision between the two!

Last December I visited the Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A in London. Mum accompanied me and recalled wearing Mary Quant in the 1960s!

After last year’s unusual wedding dress made from scraps, remnants and trims, and now I’m halfway through “Fashionopolis: the price of fast fashion & the future of clothes” I’m conscious of the waste generated by fashion (even a small venture such as mine). Lurking within the studio I’m sure there are loads of outfits destined to be created!! First up, the circular skirt. A fantastically flattering skirt for all shapes and sizes. However it takes a huge amount of fabric and w...astes nearly as much again. To combat this I cut mismatched panels of various sizes using three fabrics: tartan (from Dec 18 dress), red crepe (from an old sample) and lining (left over from the biker jacket). It’s not entirely perfect, it’s very mismatched, and not to everyone’s taste but I’m starting the year with a new skirt made from nothing! It’s perfect for dressing up with heels and down with walking boots or pumps.
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All alone for a couple of a days so a chance to catch up my Christmas present reads! A chance to reminisce over three super exhibitions last year.

As the decade draws to a close, I’m in reflective mode. Over the last ten years I’ve resigned from a well-paid job in PR to pursue my passion for tailoring (having tried my hand at doing both part-time), introduced my then boyfriend to the concept of furnishing a house (a bed, sofa, TV and Bose sound system do not constitute a furnished property), got married, and continued to travel the world. What will the next decade hold? Hopefully as much fun and unpredictability as the last! Bring on the twenties (my favourite fashion decade) & all that jazz! Happy New Year

Two fashion exhibitions today: Mary Quant at the V&A; and Zandra Rhodes at the Fashion & Textile Musuem. Very different but equally fab exhibitions. Well worth a view. More pictures to follow.

Excited to receive the length of printed chiffon returned from Ciment Pleating fully pleated. All I need now is to finish designing the rest of the dress.

Congratulations to Bron & Stan on their wedding day! Bron’s bespoke circular skirt and boned corset dress was created from bags & scraps of velvet, silk, lace and ribbons. Incorporating tapers of silk, lengths of tulle, an inbuilt bustle and train made of velvet, beaded lace and sari fabric. The dress took 99 hours to create, but the hundredth hour, on the bride, was it’s most magnificent!

It’s always a delight to create something truly unique. This stunning blue wedding dress was designed earlier this summer. A fitted satin bodice with a double-double circular skirt (an engineering triumph if I say so myself!) with bias satin edging. Custom-made bugs were hand appliquéd to the finished design. Can’t wait to see the images of Hannah (the bride) wearing this splendid dress as she tied the knot last week.

What to wear for an autumn wedding? Today I wore a new silk shirt dress with a double circular skirt. Made from three different silks: red silk crepe, two different patterned satins. No particular pattern or design it was truly fabric inspired.

Unexpected flowers from a delighted customer! Her husband said he was moving the car and returned with flowers. He was so pleased with the dress nipped into M&S and bought these!

Visited the Manolo exhibition at The Wallace Collection. If you’ve never been (and I certainly hadn’t) it’s an opulent “house” nestled a couple of streets away from the busy (and somewhat trashy) Oxford Street. The Wallace Collection is well worth a visit if you like 17th and 18th century art. It’s opulence was a perfect setting for Manolo Blahnik’s retrospective. In part the exhibition felt like a treasure hunt for shoes, as sometimes they were centre stage, although many discreetly placed.