Fashion

French Bridal House Calèche Continues To Bring International Style To Adelaide

These French designers live and breathe bridal couture through in the heart of Adelaide.

It seems like brides these days are looking farther and farther from home to try to find their perfect wedding dress, and why wouldn’t you go to every length to find that dress? It’s your special day. Unfortunately for most of us we won’t be able live out the dream of flying from Adelaide to Paris for fittings by an exclusive, high-end bridal designer. But we’ve got the next best thing – Calèche Bridal.

Making her way from France in 1973 with her entire family, Colette Foubert started designing and sewing Calèche wedding gowns in Norwood, which is where they’ve remained. For some time, Colette’s son Herve and current head designer Liz worked at a Calèche production house in France, but they’ve all now returned to Adelaide to continue Calèche’s legacy here. Their reputation is incredibly good, numerous brides’ daughters or granddaughters will come back many years later because they want to continue their family’s tradition of wearing a Calèche wedding gown at their own wedding.

After becoming Australian citizens, Calèche also became the first South Australian accredited designer at Paris Fashion Week in 1981. Having shown at New York Fashion Week, dressed countless public figures and won many awards, Calèche Bridal are, without a doubt, Adelaide fashion icons. They show brides that you don’t need to wander half way across the world, or even half way across the country, to find a gorgeous, couture bridal gown that is made just for you.

Their newly renovated showroom is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous bridal stores in Australia. Iconic Adelaide architect Damien Chwalisz revamped their building into an urban industrial storeroom with a catwalk running down the centre of the store and a workroom viewable by their bridal customers. With gowns sought out from all over the world, they chose to remain in Adelaide as, coming from a very populated country, they love Adelaide’s atmosphere: it’s not a rat race and the fact that Adelaide isn’t a concrete jungle makes inspiration for designs come easily. If you can make a business succeed in Adelaide, you can do it anywhere, claims Eric Foubert.

Traditionally, a calèche was the coach of a horse-drawn carriage, often used to take the bride and groom to their honeymoon; now, in Adelaide at least, Calèche is known as the Adelaide bridal designer with a French edge that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in South Australia.

Stay tuned for their new collection which is out soon, or pop in and visit their new-look store in Norwood.

Original image: Mike Hemus Photography

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