The Company
The Alan Hannah label was established in 1988. In 1990, Alan was joined by future wife, dress designer, Marguerite who took over the reins as creative director and designer of a single bridal wear range while Alan concentrated on accessories.
Success quickly followed and the label went from strength to strength with stockists opened all over the UK and in the rest of the world. By the mid 90’s Alan Hannah was at the forefront of bridal fashion with a string of awards including designer of the year for Marguerite on several occasions.
In the 2000’s it seemed that lots of other designers had moved their production to the far east, but after a lot of deliberation, Alan and Marguerite decided to ensure that the independence and quality of the label should not be compromised and invested in more modern production and training techniques to enable them to continue making the gowns here in London.
In 2009 we invested in purchasing and fitting out a new bespoke headquarters in North London which was opened by HRH The Princess Royal in 2010.
We always strive to produce sustainably and ethically. All our seamstresses have worked with us for at least 15 years and more. New advanced recycled materials are used as they become available. We support the Barnados charity by gifting previous season samples for them to be reloved in their shops and to raise money to support vulnerable children.
Our Designer
“When I start designing, I begin with one or two dresses. I don’t have some grand idea I just start with all my ingredients around me, fabrics, beading, books and photos. I begin to make the patterns sometimes on the flat and sometimes on my mannequin. I soon fall in love and become obsessed with the whole process of creating and turning my designs and ideas into real dresses. In the last 30 years of designing the Alan Hannah collection, only once did I find myself stuck and the “falling in love” took so long I started panicking and became lost. That year I designed Martinique, one of my most successful designs ever. I learnt not to panic but to persevere.
I normally source fabrics, design beadings and start making sketches well before I start creating the collection. I can’t stop and start, the making needs to be one continuous flow because one dress leads onto the next. This is what gives a collection fluidity and continuity.
I work exclusively and collaboratively with two very gifted beaders. In the UK I work with an amazing tamber beader whose skill and expertise has come from working with the country’s top fashion designers over the past 30 years. The other comes from a very talented Indian family who have for generations created the most amazing needlework and beading that you could imagine. The techniques and designs have been passed down the generations, and some are even the secret of one family. I am dedicated to helping to preserve these precious skills, and that is why I always want to work with these kind of artists. It’s also why I always want to make my dresses here in England with my dedicated and skilful seamstresses. This is the heart and soul of my collection and I hope this message can be explained to each individual bride who buys one of my designs. I hope that by wearing an Alan Hannah gown they can feel proud that not only is their dream made in England, but it also holds an historical value in that it is composed of fabric from small mills in France or Italy, or hand painted in Spain, or beaded from techniques handed down from countless generations in this country or in India.
I absolutely love what I do and I wanted to share this with all my brides and retailers. When I go to work I often stop, look around and think how lucky I am to be able to keep so much alive through my design and to be able to pass it on to you. I hope I have created a romantic collection of dresses that brides will love to wear on their wedding day.”