After Five Bridal + Formal
After Five has been part of Queensland’s bridal story for over four decades. It once ran three shops; today it is deliberately one, a single boutique on Kingston…
Bloom is a contemporary luxury bridal studio in Newstead, a few minutes from Brisbane’s CBD, founded in 2020 by Samantha Burgess. It carries the kind of labels that usually mean a flight to New York or Sydney - Danielle Frankel, Vivienne Westwood, VARCA - and shows them the way a gallery shows work: one bride at a time, in a private suite with a dedicated stylist, boucle sofas, fresh flowers and a glass of something cold. The studio is open Wednesday to Saturday and only by appointment.
Seven international and Australian houses sit in the permanent collection: Danielle Frankel, Vivienne Westwood, Elly Sofocli, VARCA, Bretagne, The LAW and ASAR, alongside Bloom’s own label, ODE by Bloom. The aesthetic is architectural rather than romantic - sculpted corsetry, bias-cut silk columns, Mikado and tulle volume, mini dresses, separates and overskirts for brides building a look across a weekend rather than buying one dress. Through the year the permanent racks are joined by trunk shows, including Leah Da Gloria and Christie Nicole.
The bride who already knows the designer she wants and would otherwise be shopping interstate or overseas. It also suits brides at the two ends of the budget: this is one of the few Brisbane addresses where a Danielle Frankel or a Vivienne Westwood can actually be tried on, and it is also where those gowns come back - the Bloom Archive rail carries ex-display samples and authenticated preloved gowns returned by Bloom brides after their weddings.
Appointment only, in a private suite with a dedicated stylist; the studio asks that you keep your party to three guests, and to two at trunk show events. Start looking about twelve months out. Lead times are set by the designer and are long: nine months minimum for Danielle Frankel, eight for VARCA, eight to twelve for Vivienne Westwood and The OWN Studio, ten for Christie Nicole. Gowns are mostly $6,000 to $25,000, with Vivienne Westwood separates from $1,950. The studio also stocks jewellery, footwear, veils, hair accessories, fragrance and gifts.
The Bloom Archive. Ex-display boutique samples sit alongside gowns originally bought at Bloom and returned by brides after the wedding, each one authenticated by the team - so a designer gown that would otherwise be five figures becomes reachable, from the same studio that sold it new.
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After Five has been part of Queensland’s bridal story for over four decades. It once ran three shops; today it is deliberately one, a single boutique on Kingston…
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