An Aberdeen fashion designer is producing a line of couture bridal gowns which will be showcased in the Granite City in January.
North-east brides will be first to view the sumptuous designs by Aphrodite X Venus (AxV) ahead of their debut at a major luxury bridal show in London in springtime.
The line of gowns is the latest initiative of Daniel Crozier, who set up Atelier Daniel Crozier with the backing of a group of north-east based investors four years ago.
The designer promises a line of “gowns with a capital G”, with prices starting in the £15,000 to £25,000 bracket – although for customers looking for their own special customisation, the price is as bespoke as the frock.
The designer, a graduate of Robert Gordon University’s Grays School of Art, had initially planned for AxV to produce a brand of luxury designs that would be flaunted on the red carpets of London, New York and Los Angeles.
But when the Covid pandemic tripped up high-end events across the globe, Crozier was forced into a rethink.
Speaking from his fabric-festooned office and workshop in Aberdeen, he said: “I took the time while everything was shut down over Covid to do a lot of research into how to bounce back afterwards.
“The data I was getting was that red carpet events aren’t able to take place and the stores and the buyers weren’t looking on taking on new people in that space either.
“But bridal – people still get married.”
Bridal is booming in the wake of the pandemic as postponed weddings come back bigger and better than ever.
“The market research I have read really suggests post-Covid it is almost like a roaring 20s situation.
“There is so much pent up demand people are much more willing to spend the big money on the big ticket items for a wedding – the venue, the dress and the ring being the main ones.”
This trend still appears to be strong despite economies across Europe and the US facing inflation driven by energy shortages – albeit brides in Scotland are perhaps less likely to spend large on their big day.
“In terms of geographics, in Europe the targets are very much London and the major cities – Paris, Milan – and all over the US.
“It is the big cities on the coast – New York and LA but also Boca in Florida, randomly, also Atlanta in Georgia and Texas where there is a significant amout of wealth in the area but also a mindset where people are willing to splurge on the big day – which we don’t really have in Scotland.”
He added: “People in Scotland have the money they just don’t have the mindset.”
The line will be showcased as a “test run” in Aberdeen in January at the Your Wedding Exhibition at Aberdeen’s P&J Live.
The designer will then take the line to White Gallery, the couture section of Bridal Week London, which is billed as the showcase for “most renowned names in the luxury bridal market”.
He said: “I don’t actually expect to get business out of the Aberdeen one. It is very much a case of this is the first opportuntiy to get the product in front of people, see how they react to it and what goes over well.”
Conversation