Each week the Gazette takes to the streets to unearth something being manufactured right here in Hackney. This week we visit Philippa Long’s HQ in Ridley Road Studios where she designs, fits out and makes wedding wear

Fashion designer Philippa Long never thought she’d get into bridal wear.

“I was reticent to do it because you always hear lots of nightmares stories about people changing their minds all the time,” she said.

But four years ago when she made a one-off bespoke commission she changed her mind herself.

“I was taken aback at how much I enjoyed it,” she said. “She was a tom boy and didn’t have a great experience going to bridal boutiques looking for a dress, and between us we enjoyed the process of finding a dress she wanted to wear on her wedding day.”

Philippa, who works from Ridley Road Studios, prefers taking on commissions that are a little bit out of the ordinary, adding: “Traditionally bridal wear has fallen into a princessy bracket, and in the last five years people have broken out of that and think: ‘I don’t have to look like a bride on my wedding day. I can look like me’. I’m really excited when I meet brides who don’t necessarily want a dress or for it to be white.”

Bespoke dresses cost from £2,500 upwards.