I'm Lucy, the Founder and Creative Director of Swans Bridal, and I'd love to help you create your dream wedding outfit. 

The day I discovered my Grandmother's bag of fabric scraps used to create the rag dolls she made to raise money for Save The Children, I was hooked on textiles and fashion design. Her father, my Great Grandfather, was a tailor who actually did the thing you see in the movies that tailors do, sitting cross-legged on a cutting desk, drawing out pattern pieces with chalk. So I guess my obsession and DNA combined has led to me to where I am today.

In my early teens growing up in London, I found my Dad's carefully stacked collection of ID and Face Magazines, and these opened up a world of subculture and style I had never seen before. One particular spread immediately caught my attention, as it featured a photoshoot of Vivienne Westwood's AW87-88 Harris Tweed Collection. The corsets, the mini crini's, the platform rocking horse shoes....my course was set, and all roads led to art school.

After 4 years at Central St Martins and Kingston Uni, I then set about trying to make a living in Fashion Design which at times seemed as unattainable and difficult to succeed in as being a Prima Ballerina or a Pro footballer.

I worked for most of the high street giants, who all, as time went on made a big deal about appearing to the public to be as sustainable as they could be. None of them ackknowleged the uncomfortable truth that their business models that relied on encouraging overconsumption and as a result, overproduction. Great-Grandfather would turn in his perfectly cut suit

"All fur coat and no knickers" was how a hard bitten and highly experienced Womenswear Buyer once desribed the sustainability strategy wheeled out yearly by what is known in the UK as one of our best known and well loved High Street Retailers. 

Did they really believe that talk of recycled polyester, organic cotton, better working conditions for employees in factories and disolvable paper carrier bags would distract us churning out millions upon millions of new garments we don't need every year? 

The sheer magnitude of waste, particularly in bridal fashion—where gowns are often worn only once—was something I could no longer ignore. 

That’s why I founded Swans Bridal. The mission is simple: to give single-use wedding gowns a second life, transforming them into contemporary, beautiful designs for the modern bride. Sustainability and truly aspirational bridalwear can coexist, I'm committed to making that a reality—one dress at a time.

I live and work in the foot of the South Downs in West Sussex with my husband Tim and our children, and I'm never happier than walking from our house up Ditchling Beacon, or working with wonderful brides to make their dream wedding outfit a reality.

I still owe so much to my idol Vivienne W, who continues to inspire me both in style and ethos and whose wise words we should always consider before making our next clothing purchase;