Where are you based and how many years in business? Lea-Ann Belter Bridal and Astrid and Mercedes are based in Toronto, Canada. The Lea-Ann Belter Bridal collection is 30 years old this year and the Astrid and Mercedes collection is 6 years old.
Where are your gowns made? Our gowns are proudly cut, sewn and finished in Toronto, Canada.
How did you get into designing bridal? I have always been very artistic so when my brother’s then fiancee asked me to design a wedding gown for her I jumped at the opportunity. The gown was beautiful and I was hooked. I enrolled in fashion school shortly after.
What is the vision of the Lea-Ann Belter collection, there seems to be an ease to the designs? I design gowns that enhance a bride’s natural beauty, body type and personality. My collections tend to be more classic and timeless as opposed to being trendy. I want a bride to pick up her wedding picture 20 years from her wedding date and still feel like she would wear the gown again.
What is the vision of Astrid & Mercedes? The A&M collection is named after my two nieces. Astrid is a very accomplished athlete who leans towards a more classic and tailored style while Mercedes is the quintessential girly girl. The collection pulls from both of their personalities - half of the collection is clean and classic with an almost preppy feel and the other half is much more whimsical and flirty.
Is there a difference in price points? Yes definitely. The LAB collection is fashioned predominantly of silks and French laces while the A&M collection is designed in very high quality synthetics and synthetic blends. We are very excited about adding several new fabrics to the A&M line in the fall that are 100% made from post consumer plastic. They are eco friendly and absolutely gorgeous! The average LAB gown is in the mid $3000’s whereas the average A&M gown is in the low to mid $2000 range.
What is your design process? This is always such a hard question to answer because it varies so much. I LOVE amazing fabrics and find a great deal of inspiration in them. I often will find a fabric that I love and will have it for a long time before I decide what to do with it. We have a small retail showroom attached to our atelier in Toronto so I also listen to a lot of feedback from real brides and take that into consideration when designing a new line and then of course I have a very talented team that also add to the design process.
What kind of fabrics do you like to work in? I love to work in many different fabrics. I of course gravitate towards luxurious silks and French laces because they are incredible - buttery silk satin is one of my absolute favorites but I also love a crisp silk taffeta or the texture of silk dupioni. When I started thinking about the A&M line I always got hung up the fabrication because I really did not want to design in synthetic but as the market started shifting and my retail partners kept asking for a lower priced alternative I was pleasantly surprised at the fabrics I was finding. As I mentioned earlier I am SUPER excited to work with the new fabrics we are introducing that are made from recycled plastic bottles. I feel good about the environmental aspect and the fabrics are gorgeous.
Tell us about the editorial images on your site, do you produce them? The images on our site are all shot in studio here in Toronto. I have worked with the same team for quite some time and we work very well together.
How have YOU been more creative or productive with your design during this time of Covid-19? With so much going on in the world today I have found solace in my studio. It was not easy at first since I was worried about running the actual business of Lea-Ann Belter during a worldwide crisis but as things started to fall into place and I was able to see a light at the end of the tunnel, I became even more inspired to design beautiful collections that will help celebrate what is good in the world. Weddings are of course always cause for celebration but I feel like the next few years that is going to be elevated even more.
