Bridal Times had the opportunity to speak with Éva Tamás Váradiné, Managing Director of G. Westerleigh to tell us more about their bridal shoe collection and accessories ahead of this season’s most important trade shows.
Can you give us a short background about G. Westerleigh?
The brand G.Westerleigh was established more than 25 years ago. Back in the days the company was mostly focusing on men’s accessories such as cufflinks. In the past 10 years the brand has become one of the main suppliers of the bridal accessories’ market in Europe. G.Westerleigh offers a wide range of high quality bridal shoes as well as bridal jewellery, hair accessories, and men’s cufflinks and leather belts. All the products are produced from high quality materials and packed in signature gift boxes.
What are some important factors your team considers while designing a G. Westerleigh shoe?
Our biggest market for our bridal shoes is Western Europe – countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain. Therefore it is important that our styles meet the expectations of the customers in these countries. We also keep an eye on the actual wedding dress trends and take these into account when designing our accessories. We design comfortable, stylish and elegant bridal shoes. In G.Westerleigh accessories, premium quality meets detailed craftmanship. The primary feature of their bridal shoes is heavenly comfort: all shoes are individually hand-made. Luxury quality is reflected in the smallest details: the soft, padded upper and lining, the leather insole, the cushioned lining around the back, and the carefully selected heels – all designed to help every bride find the perfect shoe for her big day. One of the latest innovations is that in addition to the gel insole and sponge lining of the shoes, extra pillows in the heel section of the wedding shoes have been amended.
Brigitte Bridal Shoe
Tell us about the latest G. Westerleigh bridal shoe collection.
The 2022 collection of G.Westerleigh is named Pure Beauty, inspired by the patterns of ethereal grace and delicacy. Our brand new catalog is out now which includes the newest additions of the 2022 selection, and it also features the previous products that remain in the collection. Our current collection offers around 40 different bridal shoe models, from flat styles to high heel platform shoes. We have a big diversity of styles including classic, elegant satin shoes, while some shoes are embellished with crystals, pearls or covered with different, delicate lace details.
Can you tell us about a favorite or popular style of shoe in the collection?
One of our bestselling styles last year was Miriam, a beautiful block heel shoe with mesh lace cover. We have introduced a charming selection of block heel styles in the 2022 collection.
Miriam Bridal Shoe
Our bridal sneakers Nicki, Nadine and Nora have been top sellers for many years now, so we have added another 3 new styles of sneakers to the new collection. In terms of decoration and styles, the mesh and lace shoes are very popular now, so we have been focusing on such new designs.
Margerita Bridal Shoe
Not only does G.Westerleigh produce shoes, but bridal jewellery and hairpieces. Tell us about it.
Our bridal jewellery, along with the hair ornaments, are uniquely designed and each piece is carefully produced from the finest materials such as Cubic Zirconia, high quality crystals, or freshwater pearls. Our items are mostly silver, rhodium or rose gold plated and made of exclusively non-allergic, nickel-free components. We have a wide selection of necklace sets, earrings, bracelets and also hair ornaments such as tiaras, headbands, hair vines, hair clips, hair combs and pins.
With so many options to choose from, how does your team stay creative in the design process?
We love to get feedback from our stockists about our actual products as well as any new ideas that can inspire us for new styles. We love to explore new materials and we add new styles to our collection once every year. We have introduced 16 new bridal shoes in our 2022 collection. Continuing the success of the mesh lace from last year, we have more new styles with mesh materials such as our new shoes Neveah, Polly, Zoey, Nicole or Nelly.
Zoey Bridal Shoe
Sometimes choosing the right accessories can be challenging. Do you have any tips for finishing off the perfect bridal look?
In terms of the shoes, our main advice is to go for comfort. The bride will be wearing her shoes for a full day and night, so a highly comfortable pair of shoes is essential. This is a priority for us when designing our shoes. As for the decoration of our shoes, we use fine satin and delicate lace materials that match to all bridal dresses perfectly. As for the jewellery, we have both necklace and earring sets and single earrings in our program, so depending on the style of the dress, everyone will have a wide range of choices. We have many matching products in the collection like matching necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and tiaras, so that the brides can harmonize their appearance from head to toe.
When is the next opportunity for retailers to view the G. Westerleigh collections?
We plan to exhibit our 2022 collections at 3 German bridal fairs. First at ABC München, then at European Bridal Week in Essen, and Interbride at Düsseldorf. We have been a regular exhibitor at EBW and Interbride, and we will exhibit at ABC München for the first time. Of course, we have to keep in mind travel restrictions that may be imposed during these times . In any case, we look forward to meeting our existing and new customers at one of these fairs! If anyone cannot attend, then we recommend checking our informative B2B Webshop with all our products online, please visit www.gwesterleigh.com for more information