It’s All In The Detail: Free People Limited Edition Dresses

Each one is special. The detailing is intricate, the material luxurious, and the silhouettes? Elegance embodied. Our Limited Edition Dresses don’t come around very often, but when they do, it’s something to talk about.

The talent we have upstairs on the design team is pretty remarkable. Each season, a few of those designers return to their drawing boards to create a dress unique from all the rest. Have you ever put something on, looked in the mirror, and instantly felt beautiful? These dresses have the power to do just that. They’ve been made with love, from the very first glance you can tell. From the intricate beading and soft lace, to the one of a kind trim, Free People Limited Edition Dresses have that extra little bit of beautiful.

I caught up with two of our designers, Gemma and Jessie, who created a couple of the pieces you see below. From sketch to final product, find out what inspired them this holiday season!

Limited Edition Gemma’s Holiday Dress

How did you make your way to free people, and what do you do here?

Gemma: Three years ago I was approached by a recruiter and jumped at the opportunity to work for Free People. I am a designer of woven tops and skirts.

Jessie: I was wanting to find a job in fashion where I was able to be really creative, in my interview I was told that “we sew everything by hand, we sketch with pencils and pens and we make things everyday”… exactly what I wanted! And it’s true, we really do create with our hands everyday. I’m the senior designer for dresses and just celebrated 5 years at FP!

What’s your favorite part about being a designer?

G: The best part of being a designer at Free People is the amount of creative freedom we have and the amazingly talented and inspirational people I get to work with every day!

J: I love finding beautiful vintage fabrics or de-constructing garments and re-inventing them into something new and exciting. Making dresses never gets old because it’s challenging and fun, everyone loves a good dress!

How is the design process different when making a limited edition dress compared to your everyday work?

G: Designing a Limited Edition dress gives you a chance to imagine your dream dress with no limitations and bring it to life. Also, I love to design dresses, as a woven tops and skirts designer it’s always awesome to work on one!

J: When we design Limited Edition, the sky is the limit… the criteria is something like “It should be the dress of your dreams”…As a designer you couldn’t ask for a more exciting project.

Get the look: Limited Edition Gemma’s Holiday Dress, Tambourine Bag

What inspired your designs?

G (Limited Edition Gemma’s Holiday Dress, above): I am often inspired by vintage clothing, especially from the Edwardian era. I’m a sucker for an embellished white dress! The handmade elements on vintage dresses are incredible and I like to combine those heirloom techniques with modern shapes in my designs.

J (Limited Edition Jessie’s Holiday Dress, below): I had been hoarding this beautiful vintage burn-out velvet fabric for a while and I just started making it into a shape that felt good… I wanted the dress to feel modern and sexy but also just beautiful and timeless… I added the tarnished beading for that extra ‘wow’ factor, the beads are heavy which gives the dress an incredibly luxurious, party-ready vibe.

From start to finish, how long does a piece like this generally take you?

G: My Limited Edition dress took me about one week to make. I’m always searching the world for inspiration and I had a dress from the 1920’s that I was obsessed with and had been waiting for the right time to use it.

J: That’s almost impossible to answer, it depends on so many different factors. I originally designed and made a completely different dress, before changing my mind at the last minute to make this one for the Limited Edition holiday line… this one took around 2 days.

Limited Edition Jessie’s Holiday Dress

Describe the ideal girl that would wear this dress, where is she going?

G: Ideally every girl can wear this dress. I think it would be lovely to wear to any special occasion (especially one where she’ll be dancing)!

J: This dress looks super hot worn with no slip underneath, so the ideal girl might be daring enough to wear high-waisted underwear and a super slim-line bra underneath. She’s got be going somewhere pretty glam. As she walks, the beads at the hemline will glisten and dance in the light, so she better be ready to catch a few eyes looking in her direction.

Get the look: Limited Edition Caroline’s Holiday Dress, Uptown Metallic Heel, Daisy Chain Headpiece

Thank you Gemma and Jessie!

Shop Limited Edition Dresses. 

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