We chat to the founder of luxury womenswear brand Suzannah London on festive dressing, vacation wear and the vintage collection that inspired her initial collection
Suzannah’s collections are inspired by her vintage couture collection
Tell us a little about your background and how Suzannah came to be
After graduating, I worked as trend forecaster, stylist and designer, which saw me travelling the world for inspiration. I also took great joy from looking at vintage couture archives and Italian mills, and from collecting unique pieces and references. At the time, fashion was becoming much more commercial and my real love has always been for tradition, for weaving, for fibres and beautiful textiles. I had the desire to produce a small collection of unique dresses inspired by the pieces in the vintage couture collection that I had been building, and to re-interpret the spirit and the most charming aspects of those pieces, transforming them in a modern way for today’s needs. I translated them into the most beautiful Italian cloth. The collection took off. I opened my first boutique and later moved to our current address on New Quebec Street, Marylebone, our Atelier has always been situated within or adjacent to our boutique. The collections have expanded over the years and we now produce seasonal Ready-to-Wear, Couture collections (made within our London Atelier) and a recently launched Vacation collection.
What’s your brand philosophy?
Timeless luxury. We exist to create beautiful fashion. It is what drives us every minute of every day. We go to great lengths and beyond to achieve exquisite clothes. Re-imagined classics to behold, flawless dreams to wear and all with a sincere promise to the future.
Describe your personal style
Simple, effortless and elegant, yet with practicality and a sense of joy – be it through wearing a unique colour, a fun print or an item of rare beauty.
Florence dress from the Spring/Summer 25 collection, £1,490
What can we expect from your latest collection?
Our current RTW winter collection is made up of silk and velvet tea dresses, printed shirt dresses, sharp tailored blazers and cropped jackets, trousers and midi skirts. Beautiful necklines feature across dresses, and coats are tailored in twill, velvet and shearling. I love to work with artists across all collections, and for winter, French artist and photographer Rachel Levy’s beautiful Iris print features on our Monique silk tea dress. The collection is seen in a rich winter palette of ruby red, navy, burgundy and forest green alongside highlights of shimmering gold and metallics. Our most recent Atelier collection, which is made-to order, features beautiful event-ready full-length gowns, tailoring and separates.
What are the must have pieces this winter/festive season?
A fabulous dress that works for both day and evening, a blazer and a beautiful coat. Gold, red and burgundy are key colours for the winter and festive season this year. I sourced the most incredible gold tweed fabric and created a double-breasted blazer and cropped jacket, a midi-length skirt and dress which are all part of our Atelier collection. Investing in a great tailored suit is a wardrobe essential, a sharp blazer and trouser suit in velvet will see you through the festive season and beyond.
A perfectly cut dress is also a must and finding the perfect style will ensure it is worn forever more.
Top Left: Lisa lux silk dress, £2,500, Top Right: Keene gold tweed dress, £1,990, Bottom: Brooklyn plum velvet trousers, £990 and jacket, £1,490
How do you want people wearing your pieces to feel?
It is so important that our clients feel super special and confident in their outfits, whether it is for a big event, work or every day. My team and I get so much joy from hearing clients tell us how their Suzannah London pieces made them feel and what it means to them every time they wear them, it’s why we do what we do.
Is there anyone you’d really love to see wearing one of your designs?
Adele! I just love her spirit and her style. She is such a strong beautiful woman. She is also a great inspiration to my daughter – and myself – being such a supreme talent.
Can you tell us about the role sustainability plays in your business?
We are ethically conscious and ensure this runs throughout the business. Our Ready-to-Wear designs are produced in small runs to keep the quality as high as possible and cut out any potential over-production. Our Atelier collections are produced at our London Atelier and all made-to-order.
We work with companies that are local to us. Our partners have the same values and provide high-quality working standards, fair pay for workers and sustainable practises. Like us, they’re small, honest and mostly family-run businesses, and I have known them for many years. We source and use fabrics made from natural fibres as much as we can, and where we use forest-based fibres, they’re from responsibly managed forests.
What’s new/next for Suzannah?
We have just launched the first drop of our second Vacation collection which was inspired by my travels to Cobblers Cove in Barbados and my trips to Italy and California. The collection features dresses, kaftans, pareos and separates in lightweight cottons and silks, all with the same Suzannah London polish for a luxury vacation vibe. My friend and illustrator, Susannah Garrod captured elements of Cobblers Cove seen throughout the collection, and embroiderer Jenny King has beautifully hand embroidered Susannah’s illustrations onto kaftans and a shirt dress. We have also created a unique digital Tuscan landscape as seen on the Dolce Vita dresses and scarves. Totes and straw bags are exciting new additions to the collection. Our Spring/Summer 25 collection, featuring dresses, tailoring and separates in a palette of neutral pastel hues will start launching from January.
