Madeleine Bender in two Bespoke DRESSES
A period gothic celebration that moved, by design, towards something altogether more decadent — and two bespoke dresses made to match.
Photography: Benjamin Wheeler
Madeleine came to Halfpenny London with a clear vision, a folder of sketches, and a reference photo of a 1997 gown worn by Gillian Anderson to the Golden Globes, with a scalloped neckline. "I came to Halfpenny because I had a specific vision for my wedding dress I couldn't find on the rack anywhere." "I came with a load of little sketches, and she immediately understood what I was wanting." Kate understood immediately. The bespoke process was, Madeleine says, genuinely fun.
Madeleine had long admired the boutique — first as an MFA student at the Slade, walking past on Woburn Walk — and when the day came to choose her wedding dress, it only deepened that feeling. "The paint colours, the handmade curved curtain rails, the linen curtains you can move to create a dressing room. The setting in a Regency era building on Woburn Walk, one of the first pedestrianised shopping streets in the UK." A space, she felt, entirely worthy of what was being made inside it.
THE CEREMONY DRESS
"Halfpenny makes these super adaptable dresses with incredible construction, and I was confident that Kate and her team would be able to bring it to life."
What came next was a creative collaboration in which the team designed a gown built around the defining details Madeleine had always envisaged. The first was silhouette — an exaggerated hip achieved through layers upon layers of tulle, sculpted to create a shape that was at once dramatic and entirely considered. The second was the neckline: a unique inverted scallop that required precision, proportion, hand-finishing and clever corsetry to bring to life.
Discussions with Kate moved fluidly from sketch to drape, with the studio's trove of separates pinned together to approximate the final design. "Besides actually wearing the final dresses, the best bit was working out the details that way."
THE PARTY DRESS
The second dress came about simply because the experience of the first had been so fun. For the evening, Madeleine chose a shorter bespoke piece — lighter in feel, though no less considered in its construction. Delicate lace from the Halfpenny archive was appliquéd by hand onto the bodice, while the corset itself was made from the finest bobbinet mesh and boning — featherlight, but fully structured within. Beneath it, a pannier underskirt of boning bound in duchess satin, assembled entirely by hand. The result was a look that moved effortlessly from the formality of the ceremony into the warmth and freedom of the evening.
THE DAY
Madeleine and Tom designed their day to move through registers — beginning with something classical and atmospheric, and shifting, as the evening took hold, into something warmer and more celebratory. Held at Babington House, the day ended with a Cabaret show. A celebration that began with intention and ended with joy, exactly as planned.
CREDITS
Photography: Benjamin Wheeler
Videographer: Two Stories
Wedding Planner: Martha at Anemone Style
Venue: Babington House
Flowers: Passion Flowers
Cake: Sugar Plum Bakes
Shoes: Marc Jacobs
Stationery: Ink and Paper Design