Designer: Jack Sullivan Bridal
Why did you become a bridal gown designer?
I got into bridal because my mum, Wendy Sullivan, is a bridal designer. She had a label called Airs & Graces when I was growing up, so I always grew up in a ‘bridal house’. My brother and I would carry rolls of material up and down the stairs. It’s always been a massive part of my family. My great grandmother and my grandmother were lingerie designers down in Melbourne.
How did you become a designer?
I grew up with a mum who was a wedding gown designer that smashed all these goals and a dad who ran the company which was really inspiring. The moment that kicked off my design career was when I moved back from Canada where I was a ski instructor. I was helping mum at her label and I was on hold on the phone, so I started sketching a gown on the desk pad while I waited. It sat there for three weeks until mum saw it. She asked who did it and I explained that I did. We then worked on it together and put it in the next collection. Six months later it was on the cover of Queensland Bride magazine.
How long have you been a designer?
Jack Sullivan Bridal has been around for about 7 years, but I’ve been designing for 9 years.
Tell us your 3 favourite things about your job?
1. Making the bride happy, that’s the number one thing. Making her feel beautiful and special on her big day.
2. Being able to travel all over the world.
3. Working in a creative field. There’s a feeling you get, like a buzz, when you’re about to finish a gown you’ve been working on for days, months or years. It’s a great feeling.
Tell us what inspires you to design your gowns:
Fabric and textiles are the main thing. Focusing on a particular aspect of a fabric and working out how to exaggerate it or by drawing inspiration from lace designs. I went through a designer rut about a year ago, and I went into Mood Fabrics in L.A. I found new lace designs and it instantly inspired me and I had too many designs!
Do you have a favourite design?
Having a favourite gown is like having a favourite child. You’ve got them but you’re not really meant to tell anyone. I can’t choose a favourite but a gown I’m probably the most proud of would be the Hannah gown.
Any words of wisdom for our beautiful brides when choosing their perfect gown?
Choose what you love, and what you feel beautiful in. Not what you think everyone else wants you to wear!
