May 18, 20184 min read

Meet Our Expert: Anna Dutton

North Queensland may be the gateway to The Great Barrier Reef one of the seven wonders of the world, but for us the star attraction of North Queensland is the talented Anna Dutton from Anna Dutton Couture. Based in Mackay, Anna is a truly gifted designer and brings her sketches to life by hand in her studio. With a passion for unique designs she is in her element when surrounded by sumptuous silks, satin's, laces and glorious colour.

"she is in her element when surrounded by sumptuous silks, satin's laces and glorious colour."

Being a huge fan of Anna’s work, we were excited to be able to sit down with her and discuss everything ‘Anna Dutton Couture’ and get an insight into what it takes to be a couture fashion designer.

Tell us about the Anna Dutton Brand and how you come to be a designer?

My passion for designing began at a young age and I originally started my own label when I was fifteen years old. As my designs and concepts grew I felt that my image and designs needed to be re-branded and become more polished and professional so in 2013 I decided that it was time to re-brand my label and the ‘Anna Dutton Couture’ label was born. I also took the huge step of resigned from my full-time job to concentrate full time on designing. I have always had a love of designing as I grew up the daughter of a well-known bridal designer and was taught a lot of my skills by my mother and have continued to grow, learn and evolve my techniques and label over the years.

What inspires you as a designer?

I find my inspiration primarily within the fabrics that I work with. When looking though fabrics I usually see something that really captures my attention and from there I can form a vision of what the final piece will look like, I have never been a designer to sit down and sketch out a design unless it is for a client. When I create something new for a collection I prefer to start creating the base gown and evolve the design from there. I enjoy seeing where the design and the process will take me.

What is your signature aspect to your designs/collections?

Colour, colour, glorious colour! My passion is creating coloured bridal and evening wear, for as long as I can remember I wanted to create gowns that would not typically be found in a bridal store and this combined with my love of detailing and tailoring each gown perfectly for each of my clients is my point of difference in the industry and what has always brought my clients to me.

Do you create seasonal collections?

No, my work is based solely on custom couture orders directly with my clients.

What do you enjoy the most about your profession?

I love listening to my clients describe their dream gown and then work with them to make this vision come to life. The best part of my job is seeing them step into the gown at the final fitting and watching as they turn to the mirror and see their vision complete. It truly is the best feeling in the world knowing that my work is the reason for the and emotions running across on their faces.

Where is the Anna Dutton Brand available?

Brides can contact me directly to arrange a consultation as most of my work is custom designed and created from my Mackay Studio. A small range of my work is stocked by Bridal Palace in Townsville.

What has been your favourite gown you have designed and why?

My award winning Astala Gown created in 2015 remains my favourite design to date. A dramatic black and nude Avant Garde bridal gown, which drew a lot of mixed reactions on the runway. The construction of the gown took me almost 12 months to complete and it had approximately 400 meters of fabrics used in its creation. The gown featured a structured long line bodice with hand cut lace and beaded embellishments. The skirt which was made from many strips of organza layered over each other to create the design, fanned out to feature a large train and was worn over a 6-hoop petticoat.

If you could design a gown for anyone who would it be and why?

Hands down, it would have to be Dita von Teese. Her sense of old world styling, her love of immaculate stunningly crafted gowns and highly embellished costumes leaves me dazzled and I would LOVE to design her a Avant Garde gown!

What are your top tips for brides looking to have a couture gown crafted specifically for them?

Choose your designer carefully, look at their work, check out their reviews and speak to past clients, meet with your designer and see if you click. Having a gown made is such an important process, you need to be certain that you are both on the same page and feel 100% comfortable with and trust each other implicitly to make the decisions you will need to make together in order to create your dream gown.

What does the rest of 2018 have in store for Anna Dutton Couture?

This year has been another extremely busy one for me with my bookings almost completely taken for custom work for clients. I am also very excited to be releasing six new designs at the Townsville Fashion Festival on the 26th of May. I also have some very exciting styled collaboration in the works with some amazingly talented colleagues right across Australia and I am very excited to see where the second half of this year will take me.