What do you get when a couture bridal designer of 25 years marries a fine Merino wool grazier? A Sustainable, Wool-Based Luxury Wedding Dress Collection of course!
My family and I grow fine Merino wool on our property, Horrocks Vale a majestic piece of land, southeast of Port Augusta in South Australia.
My name is Nikki Atkinson and I am a fashion and bridal designer and wife of a wool grazier for 19 years. In that time I’ve become utterly obsessed with the fibre for textile use, consistently amazed at its unexpected silky soft texture (no… its not heavy or scratchy!) and amazing application qualities.
If you had told me 10 years ago I’d be designing wedding gowns made out of wool I would have told you you were crazy but I am now so excited to be able to bring my two loves together and create a garment that not only conveys classic beauty but aligns with environmentally friendly movement in the fashion industry.
Paired with laces, beaded fabrics and silks, this collection is one of my favourites to date and I’m incredibly honoured to be able to share it with you.
Wool is the future of sustainable fashion and lucky for me…I know a supplier! Horrocks Vale is a sheep property, southwest of Port Augusta in South Australia and it’s also my family home. We have been running fine Merino wool sheep here since 1971.
Wool is an environmentally positive fibre with a number of sustainable benefits as well as being incredibly breathable, non-allergenic and super silky soft! It’s for those reasons that wool is the future of sustainable fashion and thankfully for the planet, is being used in more and more garments globally. Wool is 100% natural, renewable and biodegradable meaning less carbon emissions into our air, less polluted water and does not contribute to microplastic pollution in our oceans or on our land.
Our gowns are 100% Australian made, designed and made by my hands in the studio. From the raw material stage on the property to the design and development of the final garment!