For the minimal lovers, Lola Varma was created by Courtney Illfield to cater to the modern woman – those who want to break the typical bridal mould and wear something unconventional, with effortless grace and elegance.
We’ve loved working with Courtney Illfield the talented woman behind Lola Varma (pictured above) over the years, featuring her beautiful minimalist designs in our magazine and online has been an absolute pleasure. Her new release of gowns and separates are true to the brand’s style and mirror the air of our era and the desires of the modern woman. Minimal and elegant, the garments honour a subtle beauty. Courtney has told us “It hasn’t been the easiest trying to bring it all together since the world started spinning into chaos.” Yet as we see here, amazing things can come out of a difficult situation.
Her new Est.VIOLET collection is made up of six gowns, two skirts, five tops – and one sassy corset. She explains: “The thread throughout is, of course, the fancy frills that exist on most garments, whether on the shoulders or arms or waist. Making a minimal garment just somewhat slightly different. Some garments are made with the frills & some will need to be ordered as an extra and added in production.”
Courtney prefers to style the garments with the frills as well as adding the Raina Corset to finish off the look where possible depending on the garment, however, she completely understands that “some women may not like this look.” But for those that do love it, the corset is extremely flattering, cinching the waist and adding a saucy edge to an otherwise simplistic form. With the embellishment of the frilled hems, the whole mood of the garment is instantly uplifted. Courtney describes “all the blouses do work perfectly with the Delfina Skirt of course. This skirt will be around until I’m grey and old.” This is definitely a classic silhouette that works so well with a slew of options, especially for brides who want to shake things up a bit for their reception with an outfit change.
The inclusive range also provides beautiful options for brides who are expecting. Courtney says “the Dee Gown & Arya Gown are both perfect for women that fall pregnant during the engagement period or getting married while pregnant.”
We love that Courtney has sustainability at the forefront of her brand, an example of this being that the material used in the collection is deadstock from large fashion houses, minimizing unnecessary waste, and doing her part for the environment one dress at a time.
This post features a selection of pieces from the new collection, we encourage you to visit the Lola Varma site to see the full collection.
Courtney is pictured above on set safely styling and producing her editorial shoot for the new collection. Below that are images from her gorgeous Melbourne studio which is relaxed and personal. She can’t wait to welcome brides back in once it’s safe to do so and in the meantime with theses recent challenges presented by COVID, brides can still enquire online at Lola Varma’s website and get the same friendly, thorough service with warm guidance every step of the way to creating their very own masterpiece.
