We are delighted to interview the talented Martin Dobson and find out what it really takes to be a couture wedding dress designer!
Welcome, Martin Dobson! We just love your fanciful and romantic designs and can’t wait to get into your head! What was your first fashion memory from your childhood?
Martin: I think the first memory was watching the old “Come Dancing” television ballroom dancing show with my parents and just loving all the glitz and glamour and realizing that life and clothes could be glamorous. I come from a working-class coal mining family and spent my boyhood in the Welsh Valleys. So, life was really quite tough and hard. Every week though, there was a TV program on the BBC called “Come Dancing”.
It was a national Ballroom Dancing Competition. I loved the beautiful dresses, which always said to have sequins “sewn on by the dancer’s mother”, and I was entranced by the realization that there could be another exciting world somewhere beyond the Rhondda Valley. To this day, I am captivated by fabulous clothing that can lift you up from the everyday and the humdrum life. I still love glitz and glamour!
And what were the steps in your fashion career that led you to become a wedding dress designer? What did you want to be when you grew up?
Martin: I knew that I definitely wasn’t going to go down the coal pits and become a miner like the rest of my family! At school, I had always been good at Art and spent all my spare time on creative subjects. I went to university to study Fashion and Textiles with a particular emphasis on mastering Pattern Cutting. It’s vital to master the patterns and it was an area that I enjoyed. That skill set together with my love of beautiful couture dresses and a personal sense of the romantic, naturally led to me designing Wedding Dresses.
Martin: At 22, I had my own successful Bridal Label and company. These were the days before social media, so my business prospered through satisfied customer’s personal recommendations to others. In some ways, “word of mouth” is still one of the best forms of advertising. Although I have now worked in several other sectors of clothing including eveningwear, day dresses and denim, I never lost the love of creating beautiful romantic pieces.
“I come from a working-class coal mining family and spent my boyhood in the Welsh Valleys. So, life was really quite tough and hard. Every week though, there was a TV program on the BBC called “Come Dancing”. It was a national Ballroom Dancing Competition. I loved the beautiful dresses.”
Martin Dobson
For a lot of women, their wedding day is the one day that they will be truly glamorous. It’s a big responsibility for a wedding dress designer. Do you feel that it’s a lot of pressure?
Martin: Designing for one person and their big day carries a special form of responsibility. I don’t know if I would call it pressure, but it gives me a real sense of obligation to ensure that the bride is thrilled with her dress. Of course, because my styling is quite individual, the client will already have seen my creative style and decided that they want something a little more individual. The process is usually quite an extended one and it can take up to a year from the genesis of the idea to finally come to the finished article. But it’s always worth the time and effort to see my delighted clients. I don’t know if that’s pressure but it’s a worthwhile responsibility.
A very big part of fashion is about dreams. How do you get inside the head of a bride-to-be and really understand what she fantasizes for her dream wedding gown? Do you follow her lead, or do you guide her gently from start to finish?
Martin: We usually start by having a nice, lovely conversation, often over a glass of wine. This allows them to tell me how they imagine the day and the dress to be. Often, they will have brought “tears” from magazines and pictures of other gowns for inspiration, and I will make suggestions on shape and possible embroideries and trims. The second meeting will see me showing them sketches that reflect the design and fabrics that I think will match their vision. After that we will have a pretty good idea of the look of the piece, and I will start making a first mock-up of the dress and the process is underway.
What are the biggest challenges you face when designing bespoke gowns for private clients? For example, has a client ever completely changed her mind about the design halfway through the process?
Martin: I am a great believer in ensuring that any project has a sound foundation, so the first meetings and conversations are vital. If there are any doubts on the design, then hopefully we have addressed them early in the whole process. One of the most important aspects is to understand that every bride is shaped differently, and I think it’s a large part of my role to ensure that my designs best reflect the individual wearing them
“At 22, I had my own successful Bridal Label and company. These were the days before social media, so my business prospered through satisfied customers’ personal recommendations to others. In some ways, “word of mouth” is still one of the best forms of advertising.”
Martin dobson
Martin: After that, it’s rare that the dress diverges much from the original design because as I have said, the consultations are a massive part of the process. It is possible that there may over the time be a change slightly in the fittings, but normally once the design of the dress has been signed off only small changes can be made. The color, shape and look are determined at the inception. I like to think that my experience and knowledge helps make the experience as smooth and fun as possible.
Are there any funny stories or disasters that you could share (no names mentioned) about things that have happened during the process of designing or making the dress?
Martin: Several, but I am still haunted by a particular one in the early years of my business. The most expensive piece that I had created at that time had a beautiful lace train. After pressing, I left it draped on a mannequin. The lovely cleaning lady that helped me chose that day to knock over the mannequin, managing to drop most of the train straight into a bucket of filthy water. You could hear my screams around the valleys! Fortunately, I did manage to get the dirty Grey washed out, but I still wake up thinking about it!
How long does it take to make a custom Martin Dobson Couture wedding gown from start to finish? There is so much attention to detail!
Martin: A custom dress can take up to a year to complete depending on how much embroidery and beading is on the dress and how many details are changed in the fittings.
Your custom embroidery and beading are exquisite! Can you please explain to us the technical process of how you create the flower designs and applique?
Martin: Thank You. That’s a lovely thing to hear. Oddly a lot of it begins with my love of nature. Even as a boy I would go for walks in the country and loved observing all of the wildflowers. To this day, I find walking through the Suffolk countryside gives me inspiration. After that I create all the embroidery designs on my computer which are then printed out for the bride to approve,
Once she has selected the pattern, the embroidery is broken down into sections to be embroidered on my own embroidery machine. This is the time I put all the embroidery sections back together on the actual fabric of the dress; if there are any 3D flowers or leaves in the design, I then embroider them separately and they are handstitched along with any beading onto the dress.
Your stunning fashion shoots always have big themes with element of fantasy or theatricality. How are they created? Are you the art director?
Martin: I don’t know if I would call myself the Art Director, but certainly the Creative Head. I always oversee things for my own shoots. I envisage them and the mood of the shoot and then discuss it through with my selected photographer.
Martin: I always collaborate closely with the photographers on the shoot, and we tend to work around the dress but also use unusual settings, sometimes a photographer will contact me if they are doing a themed shoot and ask if I have any dresses that will fit within the theme, I always try to be at a shoot to oversee things
Seeing my pieces in another person’s visualization can be very creative and give some terrific images. So, whilst I have a clear idea of each shoot that I do, I enjoy the interchange and exchange of ideas. It’s all part of the creative process that we designers love.
“Bridalwear is a different type of creation. My garments reflect a timeless aesthetic. I want to create a beautiful piece that is personal to the bride and will look as lovely in a photograph in 20 years from now.”
Martin Dobson
Can you tell us how you created the “underwater” photographs? They are so visually compelling and artistic. Surely the shoot wasn’t really underwater!
Martin: The underwater shots were actually shot in a swimming pool by a photographer who specializes in those type of shoots. As you might now realize, I love romanticism and I particularly love the paintings of the pre-Raphaelites such as Burne-Jones and I have always been quite entranced by a particular one by Millais which uses water. One of my photographers has mastered the art of taking amazing underwater images, so it was a natural move to shoot some of my pieces like that. I love how the photographer manages to make them reflect the aesthetic of the Pre-Raphaelites. I think that there is a sort of “other worldliness” to them which works well, particularly as they were taken in the English countryside of Suffolk in East Anglia.
You mentioned your love of nature and wandering through the English countryside as a source of ideas. What else inspires you? What kind of role does Art play in your life and design inspiration?
Martin: Like all creative designers, I have a passion for art. It plays an ever-present role in my life. Fortunately, I have a home in London and that allows me access to so many superb galleries and exhibitions. The Tate Modern is just a short tube train ride away. I am particularly moved by shape and love sculpture. Perhaps it’s the study of different forms that help inspire some of my designs. More than paintings, I have developed a personal a collection of glassware, stone and ceramics in many different forms.
How much attention do you pay to the rest of the Fashion industry, new designers and haute couture? Do you think wedding dresses should be trendy?
Martin: I worked in the fashion industry for years, and even worked with a “fast fashion” design house, so I am always aware of key trends and moods. I also keep abreast of any fabric and lace developments and tend to keep an eye on any upcoming trends to see if any upcoming silhouette is of interest which informs rather than dictate the shape of the dress, as a wedding dress is a very personal thing for the bride and not dictated by fashion. In the main though, bridalwear is a different type of creation. Our garments reflect a timeless aesthetic. I want to create a beautiful piece that is personal to the bride and will look as lovely in a photograph in 20 years from now.
From sketching gowns and embroidery motifs to draping dress patterns, to interacting with clients, what part of the bridal business do you find most stimulating?
Martin: All of it! From meeting new and excited clients to the creation of the mood boards and coming up with new ideas and designs. I love seeing the piece come together and the joy that brings. I love all of it. Even helping to sew on the embroideries!
The Fashion Industry is notoriously difficult, and they are so many details to keep track of to be successful. Is there any particular part of the business that you especially dislike?
Martin: Unfortunately, most people in the garment world know that it can attract some dodgy characters and “rip off” merchants. Some people steal your designs and that can be hard to take, particularly if they “bastardize” them and sell the ideas as their own. Not everyone appreciates the time and effort spent in creating something unique and personal, and many bridal boutiques still favor buying mass produced garments. That can be hard to take, but I think overall that I’m lucky that my clients have all chosen to work with me and have already understood my handwriting and style. I guess another aspect of the business I dislike is that not everyone can be trusted financially. My first business collapsed after 6 years when my “partner” disappeared with all of the money. I never did hear from him again. So that’s definitely a negative!
For new designers who are hoping to enter the fashion industry – what is your most important piece of advice or something you wish you had known when you were starting out?
Martin: Well, following a previous question, one answer would be to make sure that you can trust your business partner! I think though, that you should try to stay close to your vision. There will be a lot of hard work and be prepared for the ups and downs. Where possible, try and be nice to people, whether clients, retail buyers or trade salespeople. It usually pays off in the long run.If you do get early success, don’t get carried away. The fashion world is full of last year’s big thing. So be prepared for the long haul and wherever possible, enjoy the ride. It can take you to places that you never imagined.
You’ve been in the business for many years. What in your opinion is the most important quality one needs to be successful in the fashion industry?
Martin: Talent is the first and most obvious answer to that. But talent isn’t enough without determination and hard work. Also, these days, it’s vital to be as aware of social marketing as much as possible. So be prepared to work hard to achieve your goals. It’s worth it. Also, be sure that you can trust any prospective business partner. Trust is so important.
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