Made with love

MADE

WITH love

COSPLAY ENTHUSIAST CHANI HUGHES IS THE ARTISAN BEHIND SELKIE COUTURE, A BESPOKE BRIDALWEAR BUSINESS SPECIALISING IN COMPLEMENTARY WEDDING DRESSES FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES. SHE SPOKE WITH BLUE MOUNTAINS LOVE ABOUT HER PASSION FOR MAKING.

Tell us a little about your background?

I’ve lived in the Blue Mountains nearly my whole life and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m in my final year of a Bachelor of Theatre and Performance Degree at the University of New England, which feels both exciting and terrifying. In between uni I’ve worked with theatre companies and trained as a belly dancer, performing as a soloist at various events throughout the mountains and in Sydney as my dancing alter-ego, Selkie. I’ve also been making clothes and costumes for many years, hence Selkie Couture.

How did you get into dressmaking?

When I was little, I hand-sewed clothes for my toys. Mum put together a small sewing kit for me, gave me pieces of fabric and showed me the first steps to using a sewing machine. As I got older, I graduated to a sewing machine and made clothes for myself and family members and friends, and I began to work on costumes.

I’ve loved dressing up ever since I was little. Throughout high school I made costumes for themed parties, and when others outgrew ‘dressing up’ I started making more elaborate costumes and looking for more opportunities to create and wear my designs. I started attending comic conventions, which validated my work, and am now part of the cosplay community – people who make costumes and dress up as their favourite characters from various pop cultures. I take commissions for costumes and create steampunk accessories for Afternoonified, in Katoomba.

What bridal services do you offer at Selkie Couture?

I design and custom-make dresses and accessories, specialising in creating complementary wedding dresses for same-sex couples. As a costume designer I’m interested in the alternative market – steampunk and fantasy based wedding gowns – as well as traditional. I work closely with clients to design and create their dream dresses and include consultations throughout the creative process to ensure the design stays on track with what the clients want, whether that’s a dress that is more casual and can be worn again, a highly elaborate gown with hand beading and long veils and trains, or a dress to fit to a specific theme or concept.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a few projects. One is my own design for Belle’s yellow ball gown from Beauty and the Beast, which I’ll be showcasing at a comic convention in September. I’m planning on hand-beading the dress, along with a lot of other fine detail, so that will be one of my most elaborate costumes yet. When I finish university, it’s my aim to branch into costume design for theatre, along with working on my wedding-dress designs. What prompted you to make complementary wedding dresses for same-sex couples?

I was incredibly touched when my close friend Amanda got engaged to her now wife, Cassie, and asked if I would make their wedding dresses. They told me how hard it was to find wedding dresses for a same-sex marriage that weren’t identical or completely different. They wanted complementary dresses but also wanted to reflect their own personalities. I realised that other couples must also experience this and decided to specialise in gowns that complemented each other through style and fabric choices.

What are your hopes for the future?

I would love to have more opportunities to make dresses for same-sex couples, along with dresses for those in the alternative fashion scene, and I hope my business progresses to a point where I may be able to take on apprentices and teach others. I designed dresses for two lovely ladies who had to fly to another country to be able to officially call each other ‘wife’ – I have seen how important it is to both of them to be recognised as a married couple, and how deeply they love one another. They have as much right as any of us do to get married, and I hope soon other same-sex couples will be legally allowed to marry in their own country. BML

facebook.com/SelkieCouture

HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!

CALLING ALL BLUE MOUNTAINS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS… WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR WORK FEATURED IN BLUE MOUNTAINS LOVE MAGAZINE?

Jennifer Leahy of Silversalt Weddings shooting our launch issue cover, ably assisted in this instance by hair and makeup maestro Paul Bedggood.

We are looking for innovative, arty, cutting-edge skills to showcase the finest local wedding photographers in a special pictorial feature to appear in our Autumn/ Winter 2018 issue (on sale 14 February 2018).

It’s a great way to give brides- and grooms-to-be the chance to see your work and to show the world what a talented bunch you are.

If you have great wedding photos ready to go, please send no more than three low-res images with a brief biography and your contact details to contact@bluemountainslove.com.au by 30 September 2017