Emilia Wickstead

There is nothing more beautiful than personality wrinkles.

I love everything I design.

Here in London, you can go for picnics and have a barbecue; you can go to a park and wear bare feet, much like New Zealand. But there's just so much buzz going on; you can be inspired by anything and everything. There's always something to do. Always.

Old images and films are my main source of inspiration.

My father, Dennis Popham, was a very handsome, talented artist, and as my mother always reminds me, 'someone who had wonderful style.' He was half Samoan-German, half New Zealander, and their first date was to a Fleetwood Mac concert, which I love the thought of.

To escape and sit quietly on the beach - that's my idea of paradise.

I want to offer a wide range of classic and contemporary bridalwear to suit all personalities, readily available to try on.

There are many bespoke services in the U.K., but everything's quite old-fashioned. There wasn't anything young and modern and fresh. We're this young service, where a 25-year-old might come and get some great skirts and her mum could come in for some linens.

From the age of 11, I was taught the importance of earning my own money. I would babysit, walk dogs, clean cars, and work at the local corner shop and the butcher's. If I wanted to buy something, I always bought it myself.

I attended speech and drama classes with a nun to help me gain confidence in speaking without my face turning red each time.

A lot of people ask, 'How did you start the business, and how did you do it money-wise?' And the truth is that I had three jobs. A day job, an evening job, and then designing my collection as well. That's just how we did it.

I put myself into another world and another identity, and I design not for how my life is but for how my imaginary life is.

I saw a niche in the market where made-to-measure wasn't being done in a modern, fresh way or in a short period of time. Traditionally, bespoke orders take a very long time, but I thought, 'Here we are with all these fashion-forward ideas - why not?'

The AW14 collection is inspired by Film Noir. Elements of masculinity and femininity were reflected in the fabric, tailoring, and features.

It's almost like a chintzy floral that I play on, and sometimes it can get a bad rep. It doesn't necessarily feel modern, but with different silhouettes and cuts, it can.

I don't come from family money, and neither does my husband.

I was so young when I started, my taste has changed and developed, and I've gone from being a little bit safe to trying different things.

I don't like the word 'ladylike.'

It's about having that nice balance. I think that's the answer to today's modern girl who is on the run. She's throwing on something before she goes out, but I still believe in the glitz and the glamour of everything and making that come to life.

I strongly believe that many of the best decisions are made on gut instinct.

It is important that every bride feels comfortable in her chosen dress, and fabric choice has a big part to play in this.

There is so much talent in British fashion: a real cookie jar of different aesthetics with designers like Mary Katrantzou, Erdem, Christopher Kane, J. W. Anderson, and Simone Rocha.

I wore one of my own designs on my wedding day.

My wedding dress was featured by 'Vogue' and 'American Town and Country,' and from there, people started to come to us because they had seen that dress.

The first wedding dress I ever made was for myself. It was at a time when I had my business up and running, but it was still very early days, and I thought, 'This is my moment to do whatever I like.'