ADL Fashion Week

Glam Goes Behind The Scenes With Adelaide Couture Royalty

The coveted doors of South Australian couture wonder Alexis George are being thrown open this Adelaide Fashion Festival, and you could get front row seats.

The coveted doors of South Australian couture wonder Alexis George are being thrown open this Adelaide Fashion Festival, and you could get front row seats!

Alexis George has been on the front foot of couture wedding dress and evening wear design since opening in 1980. For the past 35 years their stunning handmade gowns have been dropping jaws, so we sat down with the store’s Charlene Wills to discuss their upcoming AFF show, new lines and why brides from across the globe travel back to SA to have their dresses made at Alexis George.

Upon walking into the bright and spacious showroom we were overcome by that ‘kid in a candy store’ sense of excitement and wonder. Can you get a sugar high from couture? Verdict: yes. The racks upon racks of elegant lace, beading and choule spilled into each other to create truly once in a lifetime pieces. And therein lies the beauty of Alexis George.

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Across the course of the years these life changing gowns, designed by husband and wife dream team Pat and George Georgiou, have been worn by the likes of Delta Goodrem, Nicole Kidman and the pop Queen herself, Kylie Minogue! We think that says it all really.

Running seamlessly alongside their couture perfection is ready to wear line Lexi Clothing. The Georgiou’s saw that there was a significant gap in the market for high end yet affordable women’s fashion and so set out to create modern trans-seasonal pieces to bridge that gap. To say this mission was successful would be an understatement. Their own parade in 2014 New York Fashion Week (gasp!) sent the fashion world into a spin and had requests for dresses from the likes of Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian.

We got to have a quick look behind the scenes in the showroom where we saw the magic coming to life. Seamstresses and designers were measuring and stitching away in preparation for the upcoming AFF show, which will feature gowns from both Alexis George couture and Lexi Clothing. We took a sneak peek at their giant ideation board for the show too, and let us tell you it’s going to be incredible. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures though, it’s strictly secret squirrel business behind the closed doors!

Here at Glam we strive to get you the inside scoop, so while we can’t give too much away about the show, we did manage to get Charlene to reveal one of the biggest secrets about the future of Alexis George. Prepare yourselves for a ready to wear Alexis George bridal and evening wear collection! That’s right fashion lovers, in conjunction with the new upcoming Alexis George website there is set to be a collection of ready to wear pieces made in a range of sizes (including plus size.) Look, we love couture as much as the next high end fashionista, but couture isn’t always accessible for everyone. The team at Alexis George have heard these cries of despair and are in the process of creating beautiful, handmade, SA designed pieces that you can buy right off the rack! Now everyone can have a beautiful piece of Alexis George to take their wardrobes to the next level.

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Our time at Alexis George really highlighted to us the level of passion and commitment this team have in creating spectacular dresses. Charlene took us through the process of how the team go about creating their unique one off pieces (they can create a wedding dress in 6 months! Wowza) and we were blown away by how each intricate step can lead to something so beautiful.

She explained that they have many overseas brides who have come back to Adelaide to have Alexis George create the most special dress they’ll ever wear. ‘It’s often girls who have had their formal dresses or other significant dresses made by us that come back to us as adults to have their wedding dresses created… It’s so touching to know that we made such an impact on their lives that even after these women have gone out and experienced the whole world, they still want to have their most precious dress made by us, here in Adelaide.’

To get on the bandwagon and experience some of the finest handcrafted Adelaide fashion available to us, make sure you book your seats for the Alexis George and Lexi Runway at Adelaide Fashion Festival. You’re sure to be wowed by what they have an offer and in awe of the prowess of their skill and design.

When: Friday 23 October
Where: AFF Runway, Hindmarsh Square
Tickets: $30. Click here.

Visit the incredible showroom staff at
219 Unley, Road Malvern or check out more on their website.

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