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House of Mooshki- Interview with Vikki McCarthy Wright

If you have ever seen a bride twirling in her one-of-a-kind House of Mooshki tea length dress, then it’s a sight to not be forgotten! Bridal Times had the opportunity to catch up with Vikki McCarthy-Wright, Managing Director of House of Mooshki to find out how they first stumbled onto making the unique gowns, how she feels about current trends and what makes her gowns stand out from the rest.

House of Mooshki is best known for the stunning tea length wedding dresses. When did you create your first tea length designs and what was the initial reaction to it?

We are in our 10th Collection this year and our first tea length was completely by accident in our first collection samples. We had designed the “Olivia” dress which we still sell to this day and had initially designed it as a ballgown however it just didn’t seem to do the dress justice. So, after going backwards and forth with ideas we decided to make it short and took the brave step with a pair of scissors and to say the rest is history is an understatement. The dress was the most successful in the very small collection and from that one design we gathered a cool vintage vibe and following. We realized very quickly we had hit upon our niche market completely by accident but actually we were really good at it and spent the next few collection really honing in on making not just the designs different but the quality of our dresses a little bit different to what was available at the time. Each gown has a 24 bone hidden corset inside the dress which enhances any brides figure … NO MATTER WHAT HER SIZE. Most brides, even those which are a lot curvier do not need to wear a bra with our gowns and we have had a UK size 30 bride in a dress without her bra. She was absolutely astonished that this could even be achieved. All our gowns are actually designed with the curvier bride in mind. The smaller girls have much more choice therefore if we want to make the curvier brides rock too.

The Mooshki gowns are very classy and unique at the same time. Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you stay creative.

Our inspiration comes from so many different places. We have always been influenced by the couture design houses of the 1950’s like Dior and Balenciaga but we also have ICON muses who we turn to each season. Audrey Hepburn is right up there in Goddess status and this season it’s the turn of Jackie Kennedy in the early 60’s. We have diverse designers within the team. Olivia was the quirky one, Phil the 50’s and 80’s glam, Grace is the fashion forward and I design with lumps and bumps in mind so together we pull together great collections each year.

Icon’s are just a small part of the inspiration. We tend not to follow trends but set our own, therefore we do not really look at what other people are doing just do what we feel is right for us and staying true to who a Mooshki bride is and who we are. Fabrics are a huge part and influence. I have seen us design a dress in the middle of a fabric store in 10 minutes, other designs come in the middle of the night, and others spend a few months on a bust being stabbed with pins and lace until we feel its right.

On the catwalk of the Harrogate Bridal Show 2018, House of Mooshki models caught a lot of attention by dancing and having fun on stage. Did you know that this would really stand out with the audience?

It’s funny but we don’t really like catwalk shows. My nerves cant seem to take it !!! Its usually out of my control and that freaks me out a little. That said, the team for the Harrogate Bridal Show have known us for many years so they allowed us backstage and the models had walking and twirling lessons from our designer Phil. Its all about bouncing the dress down the catwalk and twirling in the right spot and the models nailed it. It did look pretty spectacular. We never want our catwalks to look glum. Our brides are full of fun and confident so we wanted that reflected in the catwalk show.

In the month of February 2019, you have been building up excitement with followers on Instagram with the 2020 collection. Tell us about that.

FabFeb was something we used to do a few years ago and we stopped to try and halt the dresses being copied before we had even taken them to market. Most designers take their dresses to market and then shoot the official photos however, I needed to be a little more organized therefore we usually shoot the dresses in September ready for their release at White Gallery in London in March. That was we could also show each store what was coming before they arrived and could make a more informed choice of dress.

This past year the dress industry has changed dramatically so we felt we needed to stand out a little and go back to what we used to do best. By releasing the dresses to the brides it used to give us a good indictor which ones were their favorites and this information we can pass onto the bridal stores which as I said effects their buying decisions.

Instagram these days is much more prevalent in peoples lives and living in the now. So instead of hosting the shoot, we are taking a true behind the scenes look at the collection before they hit the market and actually asking for comments from the brides. The audience is loving it and very quickly girls are tuning in every day to see the dress of the day. Its about involving everyone from the stores to the brides in the design process and influencing what they see.

Its not easy going live every day. It needs planning… even just getting up everyday and making sure my hair and makeup are done can be stressful. Gone are the days of throwing my hair in a pony tail and hitting the office. Each release every day is planned in the morning and I have a rough idea of what I need to say however, its live and it can go terribly wrong !!! I have been caught tongue tied on a few occasions, but for the most part it shows we are human and brides are loving it.

How would you describe the 2020 collection?

We have brought a different mentality this season and bringing capsule collections within the collection. You have the super cute typical Mooshki tea lengths in blush pink and warmer tones through to sophisticated Mikado plainer gowns with a heavy 1960’s influence.

If a bride falls in love with a tea length gown and wants it to be a full length gown, can she change this?

This is actually what we do best. We started in the retail sector designing dresses direct with brides and did not enter the wholesale market until 3 years later. Each dress was an individual piece and we bring this ethos with us to the stores. Our best selling stores really grasp this concept and we are their best friend when they have a bride saying “I like it but….” They know each dress has around 6-7 different shapes and then the induvial customizations of sleeves, bustlines and necklines are endless. So although you will see a lot of tea lengths in our collection, brides and stores do not have to have what they see and if they want it in a ballgown or fishtail they can have it. There are no rules in House of Mooshki, only options.

What can you tell us about the Grace Philips line?

Grace Philips is the baby sister of House of Mooshki. Started in 2015, it was born to allow our design team to spread their design wings and show that we can do more than just 1950’s vintage. We said in the beginning that it had to be a complete contrast to Mooshki so we went for a very simple, plain and classic and sophisticated look which was something there wasn’t a lot of at the time. We took the dresses to market in early 2016 and stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of lace and bling fishtails. We love a good Mikado dress and if we can put a pocket in a skirt we will. Our next trend with Grace Philips is full coverage and can be seen in our Modesto line. A lot of brides have religious ceremonies that need a level of coverage and again there was not a lot of this around. We have never been one for following a trend so whatever the trend happens to be you can bet your bottom dollar we will be at the opposite end of it. There are a lot of slinkier, boho and see through gowns and we felt there needed to be something a little coverage but keeping the gowns contemporary.

What can we expect from House of Mooshki in 2019?

Some vibrant colours added to our cute style gowns like the Valentine dress with the red roses which literally has taken off so much we cant keep up with the emails about it. A few more simple cuts to hit those brides who do not want a lot of puff in the skirt and the second time arounders. This is a huge under supplied market. I was married myself at 46 and did not want to look like a young kid in a princess dress.

Follow House of Mooshki on Instagram to see the new collection!

For further information, visit House of Mooshki 

More information on Grace Philips can be found here

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