About
Welcome to the Caroline Arthur Couture brand.
Read on to find out more about the history of this established bridal label – how it started, evolved and where it is now, or click HERE to find out more about the designer behind the brand.
Caroline Arthur Couture started out in 2002 under the name of Glove Design, a small brand with big aspirations to create affordable, beautifully made wedding and bridesmaid dresses. At the time, there seemed to be gap in the market for simple gowns that were accessibly priced, in beautiful quality fabrics. The brand quickly established links with premium fabric suppliers for silks and linings, and exhibited at the National Wedding Show, showing brightly coloured silks and a new Dress-Designer concept, that allowed brides to choose from a selection of separate silhouettes and build their own dress design, ready to be made in their choice of fabric. This was later digitised, the first of its kind, and became what it is today – COUTUREKIT
When setting up Glove Ltd, designer Caroline also set up The Glove Trust, which still exists today, with the intention of using the offcuts from the dressmaking process to make products such as scarves, cards and cushions. Friends, family, even customers came on board as Trustees and volunteers to make these items with a home-grown creative, community spirit, selling cards to existing customers, and donating the modest proceeds to charities, such as Cancer Research, Cherry Trees and the Liver Cancer Surgery Appeal. Time spent on the charity has fluctuated over the years depending on resouces, but it still exists and is poised to revive and flourish.
The brand quickly grew from being one-woman-at-a-sewing-machine, and Glove Design quietly rebranded as the eponymous label, Caroline Arthur Couture. Expansion was needed to meet demand, and skilled technicians including dressmakers, fitters and pattern-cutters supported this growth, along with a British manufacturing unit and a small sales team, trained by Caroline to become experts in designing gowns from the CoutureKit collection, and working with brides.
Trading from two pop-up shops as well as the atelier in Surrey for several years, the brand continued to expand. The first pop-up was at Gate Street Barn, a beautiful wedding venue in Surrey, and soon afterwards, the National Trust invited Caroline Arthur to set up shop at Ham House closer to London. These were exciting times, and the the mutually beneficial collaboration of a thriving bridal business using space at times when these venues were not being used, sowed the seed for the designer’s love affair with joint ventures involving logistical hurdles that would keep most entreneurs awake at night.
Caroline Arthur Couture became known throughout the bridal industry as a small, luxury brand, with an unswerving committment to excellence and a thoroughly creative approach to every challenge. Published by Love My Dress , Bride & Tonic , Magnolia Rouge ,and The English Wedding Blog.
The arrival of COVID in the UK prompted some scaling back of the business, and clearly no fittings were possible. Now the designer is exploring new ventures, whilst still keeping Caroline Arthur Couture going strong. The brand has a renewed committment to sustainability and is positioning itself as the expert and specialist in What to do With Your Old Wedding Dress. Click below to find out more.
Contact Caroline
I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line with your thoughts and questions – I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
As Featured By
© Copyright Caroline Arthur 2020