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Bridal Buyer Exclusive: Catherine Parry Relaunches as GAIA

News13-Mar-2020

British bridal brand Catherine Parry has relaunched as GAIA, revealing the new name and a dramatic new collection at a launch event for its retailers

Catherine Parry has announced the news that they will relaunch as GAIA.

The new name and branding have been created to reflect the fashion-forward design direction that the label has taken in recent years and to give the brand a striking, modern and aspirational new image.

The rebranding is the result of a six-month process, explains Simon Ryan, one half of the husband and wife team behind GAIA, “Whilst the Catherine Parry name holds a lot of personal meaning to Maria and I and has become widely recognised in the market, we began to see a growing disconnect between the modernity of our designs and the Catherine Parry brand name, which suited the more traditional look that our collections had five or six years ago. A lot has changed since then and GAIA is a much more fitting name that we are confident will strengthen our engagement with both retailers and brides.”

GAIA was unveiled to the label’s retail partners and media at an event at Birmingham’s Resorts World last week. The new brand was revealed through a video before a catwalk show to preview the brand new collection named ‘Riviera.’ The name of the new collection is in recognition of the region that has inspired the new designs. Riviera comprises of 16 modern and fashion-forward styles, and features on-trend details and fabrics, with polka dot tulle, luxurious stretch crepes and exquisitely beaded laces.

Both the new branding and the new collection received an overwhelmingly positive response from retailers attending the event. GAIA’s co-founder and designer, Maria Ryan, comments, “This has been a really big step and we were apprehensive about changing the brand name and how our retailers would respond to this, however, since announcing the rebrand to GAIA, we’re absolutely thrilled at the amazing feedback that we’ve had”.

GAIA will be launched to the public from 1 May with the launch of a new website, featuring new imagery and video content, and at the same time, the new brand will be rolled out across the label’s social media accounts. However, in the interim, retailers can get a sneak preview of some of the new styles at gaiabridal.co.uk

Amy Richardson, owner of What Alice Wore in St. Albans, who attended the launch event for GAIA, comments, “GAIA represents everything our bride is looking for; fashion-focused gowns that feel young, fun and relevant yet don’t compromise on quality."

"Bringing the brand and imagery into line with this is perfect for what we need right now. When we heard the imagery was levelling up and there were video shorts, we were even more thrilled. We can’t wait to populate our Insta feed with this new, brilliant content which we know our brides-to-be really engage with.”

Bethan McCall of Courtyard Bridal in Market Harborough adds, “Catherine Parry was a beautiful name but the company has grown and they’ve embraced the change the industry demanded. GAIA reflects the contemporary vibe of the brand and we love that it stands for strong, empowered women – just like Maria, the driving force behind the label.”

Simon and Maria have used the rebrand as an opportunity to drive improvements across all aspects of business, but have been careful to retain the commitment to customer service and retailer support that they have built their reputation on, as Simon explains, “Along with the new image we are going to be introducing a number of initiatives to enhance the appeal of the brand, including further investment in marketing to give our retail partners high-quality imagery and video content that will help them to promote GAIA to their audiences. However, all of the things that contributed to the success of Catherine Parry, such as our award-winning customer service, the customisations we can offer and our flexible approach to minimums, will remain the same."

“We are really excited about the future and we believe we have the right foundations, an excellent network of retail partners, and a clear strategy to make GAIA one of the biggest new names in the UK bridal market in 2020 and beyond,” Simon adds.

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