The Artistry of Pallas Couture

There’s a magic to every Pallas gown that draws you in, an alluring sensuality and romantic femininity, delicately balanced with a certain fashionable boldness. Created by true masters of their craft, every detail from the silhouette, fabrication, adornment, down to the last stitch is so sophisticatedly refined and executed to perfection. It’s an undeniable mood that Founder and Design Director Joy Morris has worked tirelessly to define since the brand’s conception in 2001. Starting out as a small bespoke couture house, Pallas has now grown into a globally recognised business with their two lines, Couture and Collective, stocked both in their Sydney and Perth flagships and available through their highly coveted New York and London personal design appointments, along with their upcoming exclusive design collaboration with Saks Fifth Avenue launching next month in-store in New York and Los Angeles.

Ever inquisitive and always seeking out the artisans of our industry, we met with Joy at the Pallas Atelier to take a closer look at the making of the new collection…

Here, in the leafy backstreets of Paddington, each Pallas piece is delicately hand-penned and hand-stitched by a team of masterful designers and ateliers. “We are constantly creating gowns within both lines, Couture; customised for brides with exclusive designs, and Collective to inject new pieces” explains Joy. In one corner, artisanal sketches of silhouettes and swatches are strewn across a desk, the sounds of pens busily dancing across paper as the design team try to keep up with their bursting ideas for the new collection and brides. Across the room a library of luxurious fabrics sourced from the world over line the shelves – poetic French laces, Italian embroideries and delicate beaded silks, sitting pretty, waiting to be sculpted into new life. Ateliers huddle around a mannequin as they meticulously finesse the final touches to one of their bride’s gowns, a celestial-inspired piece dotted in glass beads, matte sequins and featherlight tulle blooms.

“The Pallas aesthetic, both with Couture and Collective, always focuses on a strong silhouette but with the allure of transparency and romanticism.”

Chatting with Joy, she poetically speaks of the core of the Pallas brand “The Pallas aesthetic, both with Couture and Collective, always focuses on a strong silhouette but with the allure of transparency and romanticism.” As she guides us through the boutique and behind the scenes into the atelier, it’s evident this philosophy is steeped in all that they do, and yet there’s a beautiful contrast between the two lines and the women they design for.

Upon inspecting Pallas Couture, its evident there is an unapologetic decadence to each piece – gowns are dripping with dramatic trains of delicate ruffles cut with pure precision, luminescent beads and bold appliqué hand-stitched with careful consideration into whimsical, nostalgic patterns, all fused into refined, high fashion silhouettes. The experience is one of intimacy, passion and true craftsmanship as the team work to traditional haute couture techniques and methods, crafted exclusively to each bride’s body and vision, requiring the utmost precision and attention to detail throughout the process. The end result is a true art piece, a dream that celebrates the true magic of haute couture.

For the more subdued bride, Pallas have introduced sister brand Collective, a lighter, more wearable line stemmed from the demand for off the rack options. With the same precision, attention to detail and aesthetic as the Couture line, gowns are crafted from luxurious fabrications and modern silhouettes yet with more minimalistic construction for effortlessly chic styles. Joy points out that some of their ever-popular bustier styles from their new collection, ‘Left of Windsor‘, are inspired by the Couture line, “The latest collection is a continuation and reinterpretation of the Pallas style. Often gowns that we create custom for brides then evolve to new styles in a reinvented way.”

“There is an unapologetic decadence to each piece – gowns are dripping with dramatic trains of delicate ruffles cut with pure precision, luminescent beads hand stitched into whimsical, nostalgic patterns…”

While the two lines complement each other so beautifully here in the Pallas flagship boutique, Pallas is forging its own path internationally, with the upcoming Saks Fifth Avenue Collective collaboration and their regular Couture trunk shows globally and ever increasing presence on the red carpet. For a brand with humble beginnings and Australian roots, it’s an exciting new chapter for Joy and the team and we can’t wait to see what they do next…

The Pallas Couture X Saks Fifth Avenue collection will be landing in stores April 1st, 2020. To book a consultation, view the new season collections and find a stockist near you, make an appointment online today.