Love & Romance Dress
Our Love & Romance Dress was an opportunity to push both our creativity and technical embroidery skills beyond anything we'd created before - leading us to win the national embroidery awards in 2025
Much of our work revolves around designing bespoke floral embroidery, but for this project, I wanted every flower to tell a story rather than simply look beautiful.
The inspiration came during a trip to Brooklyn, New York, where I discovered a beautiful book on floriography; the Victorian language of flowers. Filled with intricate botanical illustrations and the fascinating meanings behind each bloom, it explored how flowers have been used throughout history to communicate emotions when words weren't enough.
That book became the foundation of this project.
Each flower was carefully selected for its connection to love, devotion and romance, creating a wearable narrative stitched entirely in thread. From the timeless symbolism of the rose to the quiet sentiment of the forget-me-not, every element was chosen with intention.
To challenge ourselves even further, we decided to embroider directly onto an ultra-fine bridal net, creating the illusion that the florals are floating across the body. While visually delicate, it proved to be one of our most technically demanding projects to date.
Using our 120cm × 60cm industrial embroidery frame, every section had to be stabilised with a dissolvable backing to support the embroidery before being carefully washed away, leaving only the intricate stitched artwork suspended on the transparent fabric.
The finished dress contains over one million stitches and showcases a wide range of embroidery techniques. From satin stitch, tatami fills and Florentine textures to contour shading, jagged edge detailing and accordion blending, every area was designed to create depth and movement. We also incorporated hand-stitched 3D roses, textured Sweet Williams, delicate fringe work and embroidered lovebirds with flowing stitched tails, adding further dimension to the piece.
We're incredibly proud that this project was brought to life entirely through local collaboration. The finished dress was photographed in the stunning surroundings of Guisborough Priory Gardens, providing the perfect backdrop for a piece inspired by nature, romance and craftsmanship.
The Meaning Behind Every Bloom
Each flower embroidered into the dress carries its own message:
• Buttercup – Radiance and charm
• Cornflower – Hope in love
• Forget-me-not – Remembrance and true love
• Hellebore – Overcoming scandal and slander
• Orchid – Elegance and beauty
• Pansy – You occupy my thoughts
• Rose – Love and passion
• Sweet William – Gallantry and admiration
• Tulip – A declaration of perfect love
This project is a celebration of storytelling through textiles, combining traditional symbolism with contemporary embroidery to demonstrate just how expressive thread can be.
