A bespoke gown begins long before fabric is cut. It begins with understanding how you carry yourself, how you want to feel, and what your body needs to feel held rather than constrained. From that conversation, we builds your gown by hand in Sydney atelier — boning shaped to your frame, lace positioned by eye, every detail resolved through fittings until nothing needs to be adjusted. Only then is it yours.
My dress was exactly what I wanted and more, and their work is very detailed and extremely beautiful. This absolutely made my day!Amanda R.
A private session with our head designer to explore your vision, select your fabrics, and confirm your silhouette and production timeline — before a single sketch is drawn.
Where the design takes physical form. Calico, if required. Then fabric, hand-construction, and in-studio fittings until every detail is resolved and your gown is ready.
Your vision becomes a blueprint. In your first studio session with Katy Nguyen, we begin with conversation rather than catalogues — exploring how you want to feel before we discuss how you want to look. We move through silhouette, construction technique, and fabric direction together, handling swatches from our curated selection of French laces, Italian silks, and duchess satins. By the end of this session, you'll have a personalised design brief, a confirmed fabric direction, and a production timeline set in writing.
The architecture of your gown is resolved — before silk is touched. Depending on your design's complexity, we may construct a calico prototype in draft cotton to your exact measurements before cutting into your chosen fabric. This step is offered where the design benefits from a physical foundation — particularly for structured silhouettes, deep corsetry, or intricate seaming. Where the design allows, we move directly to fabric for the base fitting. Either way, boning placement, waist fall, and hem movement are all confirmed here before we proceed.
The dress you envisioned becomes the dress you will wear. With your fitting approved, your chosen fabrics are cut and constructed entirely by hand in our Sydney atelier. Boning is hand-channelled to the body. Lace is always positioned by eye and pinned by our head designer. Embellishments — beading, appliqué, custom detailing and every single button — are layered last. You attend one or two in-fabric fittings during this stage, where every seam is refined and the finished length is confirmed before the hem is sealed.
Nothing leaves the atelier until it is perfect. Your completed gown is pressed, steamed, and inspected against the original design brief before your final appointment. We walk through care instructions, bustle technique where applicable, and how to move, sit, and dance in your gown with complete ease and confidence. Every detail — from the hang of the skirt to the tension of each hook and eye — is carefully checked and approved before your dress is wrapped and packaged in a branded garment bag, ready for its moment.
Private consultations are hosted at our Petersham boutique. Select your preferred booking option below.
Text