IN CONVERSATION WITH: CARLA JENKINS

It was my own journey searching for a wedding dress that inspired me to begin designing.  After spending what felt like endless hours on Instagram and Pinterest, I struggled to find a dress that perfectly embodied my personality and ideas; that was both beautiful and classic in its design, but modern and eye-catching at the same time. There were so many options for boho or princess vibes at the time, but I was looking for something timeless and unique and there was just nothing quite like what I envisioned available in the bridal market.  With all the research I did towards my own dress, I had a clear vision of what I wanted, so I designed a dress that matched my vision perfectly and had her brought to life by a talented seamstress for my wedding day.  I enjoyed the process of designing my own dress so much that I went on to design 8 more and that’s how MWL was born.  I knew there were other brides like me and that’s who I design for.

• Fun
• Timeless
• Romantic

Everything we do, we do with our MWL girls in mind! The ultimate MWL girl is the girl next door who is genuine and romantic and just wants to enjoy the process of marrying the love of her life without worrying about all of the usual stresses of organising a wedding.

She’s the first one to eat the cake, and the last one off the dance floor. She is a sucker for romance, the kind full of belly aching laughs and undeniable chemistry, the kind you can only find in a best friend. She loves giggling with girlfriends over cocktails, spending summer days at the beach and kicking up her heels with loved ones.  She is unapologetically herself and dreams of finding a dress that matches up to her effortlessly chic, beautiful, confident self.

Every year our goal is just to get better and better!  We want to provide a better experience for our MWL Girls, release elevated designs and continuously refine our brand and aesthetic, while staying on the pulse of modern trends. 

If you've been following MWL for a while you know how our designs and style have evolved over the years from more boho-inspired, to the chic and timeless French Crepe, Mikado, 3D laces and iconic pattern statements we are now known for.  Not only have we evolved with our designs, but we've also evolved with our team and workspaces.  We've grown from a team of just me in my parent's spare room, to a global team of close to 100 working out of custom-built MWL head offices and boutiques that I adore! Evolving and being adaptable is at the heart of our brand.

Our designs are affordable without compromising on style or quality.  We listen and intuitively adapt to the feedback we receive with each release, keeping the MWL brand ever up to date and responsive to our brides’ needs.  We release new designs all throughout the year rather than large collections at once.  This process is unique to the MWL brand and keeps us at the forefront of luxury bridal design.  We find inspiration in our MWL Girls, pop culture, current trends and more and our design team brings that inspiration to the table and builds upon each concept collaboratively until we have a sample that we can all try on and tweak until the design is perfect. The thing I love most about the MWL design process is the love and collaboration between our team and brides that goes into every single design.

I will never forget the exclusive retailer event we hosted for NYBFW 2022, where we reunited with all of our international stockists after a couple years of not being able to travel because of Covid.  We released our New York Capsule and hosted an incredible party and catwalk. I was so proud seeing our designs on such a global stage and when I walked into the catwalk room surrounded by all of our retailers and saw our content projected on every wall, it was such a pinch-me moment.

I absolutely love the process of opening our own MWL boutiques!  These spaces are so precious to me because we get to have the creative freedom to put our unique MWL touches into each boutique's design and bring them to life in a way that allows us to give our brides an incredible, tailored and exclusive MWL experience. Opening our own stores allows us to express our brand in such a unique and special way and I just want as many brides as possible to have the ultimate MWL experience.  Definitely keep your eyes out for more MWL Boutiques popping up around the world!

If I was getting married again tomorrow Vivienne is definitely the dress I would choose, although this answer is forever changing!