Smock London was founded by lifelong friends Kajsa McLaren and Laura Burch who met at university, where they bonded over their shared love of design, colour, craft and originality. They are on a mission to modernise the art of smocking for the 21st century girl. When they set out, the smocking they found felt predictable and dated. They wanted to cast off the craft’s dusty image and celebrate it as a fashion forward embellishment full of modern colour and pattern. And so Smock London was born.
Smock London reinvent smocking to be as bold and brilliant as Women and Girls today. All of their pieces are individually smocked by hand; they are designed in London using the finest threads and fabrics and made by artisans in very limited numbers. Every order supports their makers through a donation to girls and women in need in their community.
We love working in the fashion industry because…
We love nothing better than diving into a kaleidoscope of swatches, fabrics and threads and discovering exciting new combinations, plus we get to work alongside so many truly wonderful, talented and inspirational women.
Smock London is best known for…
21st century hand smocking, specifically our iconic Nightingale dress, matching mummy and me pieces and stand out hand smocked Summer dresses in bold patterns with pops of neon
Our biggest achievement to date is…
Writing our book ‘Rocking Smocking’ where we share our modern view of this ancient craft with readers and crafts people all around the world.
We’re inspired by…
The intersection of colour and craft – we are permanently on the look out for new colour combinations be they in nature, our travels, interiors etc… the juxtaposition of these glorious colours with ancient hand worked crafts is what really lights us up.
The current fashion trends we’re loving are…
The trend for dramatic details – blouson sleeves, overblown cuffs, huge collars, bold embroidery all of which find a wonderful voice in hand smocked silhouettes; also the trend for nostalgic dress silhouettes – fuelled by Laura Ashley resurgence X Vintage, these timeless shapes lend themselves so perfectly to smocking, while the hand stitches themselves add the modern pop of colour to make them feel contemporary and exciting.
Our favourite pieces from the Summer collection are…
Our matching Rainbow Carson dresses for Mummy & Me. They are so joyful and we can’t wait to wear them with our littles on the beach this Summer.
Our favourite place in the world to skip the crowds is…
Sailing in Greece, we take all of our families and often shoot our new collections as we sail around and find deserted beaches
The best person to follow on Instagram for big-day inspo is…
Isobel at Wizz and Wild, she creates the most stunning flower arrangements for the big day
And finally, what’s next for Smock London…
We will be planning a few pop ups over the Summer and have some super exciting new collaborations planned for Christmas – watch this space!
READ NEXT: The Best Summer Wedding Guest Dresses
