Peony Rice are celebrating their ten year anniversary ahead of their first showcase at London Bridal Fashion Week.

We’ve pulled together ten facts you didn’t know about the Asian based bridal brand to provide a glimpse of what to expect at their London debut.

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The Creation of Brand Peony Rice

The brand was created by accident ten years ago during a number of special technical workshops with Artisan’s D’Angkor. Inspired by the rich culture of Cambodia and the contentment shown by the local people who hand created beautiful woven silks, Peony Rice was created.

Family Values

The vision and values behind Peony Rice resemble those of a family. Run by Pauline and Gar Cheung, their mutual understanding of tradition, culture and values, shapes every decision that is made for the brand.

Walking through the door at Peony Rice is like returning home, Pauline and Gar’s values are paired perfectly with Gorilla, their studio dog, who watches over the completion of every gown and greets every customer with love.

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Asian Hometown

The brand is currently situated in Asia, with Hong Kong being their central location and an atelier in Shanghai being the key place for the creation of the designs. Pauline, the co-founder of Peony Rice, explains: “Although it may seem foreign to some, it’s been an exciting home for us. It is the core of our reason for being.

“It still has an old-world romance and oriental charm with glimpses of western influences."

Name Inspiration

Peony Rice was thought to capture the spirit of Asia on a whole. Pauline went on to tell Bridal Buyer about the influence: “Peony was derived from peonies being a very difficult flower to nurture. It is a rarity for them to bloom but once they do, they are stunning – colourful, gentle, feminine and strong.

“Rice is the staple of Asian cuisine. It showcases our desire to help less advantaged communities- the most fundamental need in Asia- to enable them to earn enough to be able to feed their families and survive.

“Peony Rice represents all we stand for, made with love in Asia.”

Love For One Another

The core driver behind Peony Rice is people. The brand offers the opportunity to connect the dots between the fashion industry and real people.

Their technical team has worked for the brand since the beginning, and now celebrating 10 years of business they share the same love as they did at the beginning.

Each member of the team values being a part of a bride’s special day and helping to create memories that will last a lifetime.

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Hands-on Customer Service

Over the last decade, head designers and cofounders of Peony Rice have worked with their clients directly.

Offering made to measure services across the collections, custom designs and being on hand to provide the care and attention to detail that every bride deserves.

Pauline added: “It’s been an immense pleasure to create collections based upon what real brides want, what women themselves want for any special occasion.”

A Love of Silk

The most popular gowns throughout the Peony Rice collection are created with a range of luxurious silks, which is a key advantage for the bridal designers who are situated in an area rich in the quality of silk.

The ability to present such fabrics to clients helps to reach out to those who appreciate quality and fabrics.

Sustainability

Pauline describes every choice made by Peony Rice as a conscious decision: “We believe in creating beautiful, and lasting designs that can be treasured for years to come, with as minimal impact on the environment as possible.

“Many of our soft accessories and head toppings are created from our collection fabrics that are left over during the creation of our gowns, thus keeping wastage to a minimum during the process.”

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Re-create and Re-customize

For brides, the question of what to do with your bridal outfit after the ceremony always remains.

Pauline explains how finding the right dress is usually driven by certain factors in the bride’s life, “extravagance, beauty, dreams and ageing traditions all influence a brides decision.

“Times have changed and so have our styles, they are clean cut and designed in a way that they are elegant, feminine and modern - perhaps a little unconventional at times too.”

Peony Rice offers an alteration service different to many bridal brands. Their bridal outfits and gowns can be customized after the wedding ceremony so that they can be worn again.

Peony Rice also offers beautifully detailed separates that can easily be adapted into occasion wear and even for day to day choices.

Their philosophy is to give brides the option to invest in their wardrobe, not just a single day, an element that practical, forward-thinking brides love.

London Bridal Fashion Week Debut

Peony Rice will be debuting their latest designs and brand favourites at London Bridal Fashion Week in March.

London Bridal Fashion Week offers the opportunity for Peony Rice designs to be showcased to a whole new audience, with an extra special touch of a homecoming.

“Most importantly for us, LBFW is allowing you to see, feel, explore and hopefully appreciate and love what we do, enough to want to share it.”

For more on what you can expect at London Bridal Fashion Week, check out what to look out for from Giorgia Couture at London Bridal Fashion Week.