CLAUDE.DRESS.4CLAUDE.DRESS2 With a less-is-more design approach wedding designer Alice Hayes has grown in popularity with her striking, yet simple gowns and separates. She had been working in fashion for a few years and always loved the art of patternmaking and sewing. "When my older sister asked me to do her wedding dress it was such a special thing to make for someone, and I sort of all of a sudden realised that this is what I should be doing. No one was really doing minimal wedding dresses in New Zealand so I saw that gap and just went for it." That was four years ago and she hasn't looked back since.
Hayes Bridal has a very luxe but minimalist ethos – how did you decide upon this and why?
I think in NZ even for what is our biggest celebration we strip back a bit of the formality and tradition - following a more low-key and relaxed approach with our garden, beach, marquee-at-home weddings. I personally don’t really see a big, sparkly, heavy gown working with that. I just design things that I enjoy making and I think me or my friends would want to wear. You can’t really go wrong with a sleek silhouette in a beautiful fabric that fits perfectly.
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Which fabrics are your favourite to work with and why?
To me there is nothing better than a silk, it falls so beautifully. Especially in a long dress and train it is so lightweight and easy to wear for the whole day and night.
Tell us five things that not many people know about you…
- I am an identical twin
- Hayes Bridal is just me! Hopefully not for too much longer but at the moment I am still doing literally everything myself including all the sewing.
- I played the Cello for many years
- I can’t draw
- The first wedding dress I ever made years ago was for the character Nicole on Shortland Street, who “married" herself.
How would you describe your style with what you wear and how you like your home/work environment to be?
My everyday style is pretty clean, simple, quite casual. I can’t go past a good jeans/tee/blazer combo.
My work studio is in a beautiful little chapel building, it is such a lovely place to be! I share the space with a friend who owns Mars Official and makes her jewellery on site too. Being a workroom it is sometimes organised chaos, I can get a bit carried away cutting/sewing, I look up and there is mess everywhere so I am forever tidying up after myself at work.
At home I prefer it to be very minimal, I’m certainly not one for clutter or bright colours so it’s pretty bare and neutral and that’s just how I like it! The bedroom especially I like to keep really clear and light as it needs to be a calming space.
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Who inspires you?
All of the truly wonderful women I am so lucky to have in my life.
Where did you grow up? 
In Christchurch. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in so there are many memories there and it is very much home.
Are you married? If you were to get married what would you wear? What kind of wedding would you have?
Not married! I can’t see myself ever having a very big or very traditional wedding. I’m sure it would quite heavily depend on what the wedding ended up looking like, and what would suit the event - so I’m not sure exactly what I would wear but every now and again I'll be working on a new sample and think that I could see myself wearing it one day.
What have you learned about business during this crazy year of Covid?
That you can’t ever really plan for the future! So much of running a small business is going with the flow and problem solving along the way.
I’ve also been amazed how understanding and kind people have been throughout this whole ordeal, so I'm trying to take a bit more of that on too and learn to not be so hard on myself.
What’s been the most surprising yet beautiful dress you have worked on?
I wouldn’t say the dress was surprising in itself but one of the early dresses I made was a bespoke silk satin gown with full long bell sleeves. It was for the most incredible wedding in Joshua Tree and I was absolutely mindblown by the photos. And just so grateful that my dress was a part of it.
What’s your advice for brides embarking on this journey… what makes the dress design aspect the smoothest process possible?
Keep an open mind! And choose the dress for yourself alone. The few times I have had brides changed their minds along the way it is often because they have tried to follow the advice of loved ones that wasn’t necessarily in line with what they actually wanted for themselves. So try to stay really honest with yourself about what you feel best in.