Melbourne, Victoria
Always and Forever Bridal International sits on Level 1 of 340 Collins Street, in the middle of Melbourne’s fashion precinct.
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Bridal Dress Stores · Melbourne, Victoria · Visit in person
Mariana Hardwick
About
Overview & Vibe
Mariana Hardwick works from a bridal atelier on Coventry Street in South Melbourne and has done for around thirty years. It is a design house rather than a stockist - the gowns are its own, developed in-house, and the site talks about fabric development and corsetry technique the way a fashion label does rather than the way a shop does. The look is deliberately contemporary: clean architectural lines, drape, and a strong preference for silhouette over ornament.
Dress Styles & Designers
One label, released as named collections: Lumière, Elysian, Visionaire, What The Heart Wants, Sacred Rituals, La Vita è Bella, Hēméra, Lago di Como and two Iconic Collections. The house describes drawing on contemporary couture, vintage reference, texture and drape, and builds to what it calls the highest quality dressmaking and corsetry techniques. Accessories are carried alongside the gowns.
Ideal For
The bride who wants a designed gown rather than a stocked one, and who is comfortable somewhere. Unusually, the house publishes three explicit pathways ready to wear, made to measure, or full custom couture - and asks you to pick one when you enquire, so the commitment is clear before the first appointment. It also runs virtual consultations for brides who cannot reach South Melbourne: gowns discussed remotely, measurements taken, and the dress made to your closest size and shipped globally.
The Need-to-Knows
The flagship is at 234-236 Coventry St, South Melbourne, on (03) 9385 6900. Open Monday and Tuesday 10am-5pm, closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 9.30am-5pm, closed Sunday. The house also sells through international stockists, so its gowns can be tried outside Melbourne.
Standout Feature
It tells you the price before you walk in. The enquiry form’s budget options run and + which is both a real answer to “how much” and a clear signal that nothing sits. In a category where most couture houses answer that question only in person, publishing the bands is a kindness.
Dresses
- Lumière
- Elysian
- Visionaire
- What The Heart Wants
- Sacred Rituals
- La Vita è Bella
- Hēméra
- Lago di Como
- Iconic Collection and Iconic Collection 2
- Ready to Wear pathway
- Made to Measure pathway
- Custom Couture Gown pathway
Appointment Policy
- Appointments are requested through the house's own enquiry form, which asks for your gown pathway and budget band up front.
- The house responds within 24 hours to confirm an appointment time.
- Virtual consultations are offered for brides who cannot attend in person, covering gown selection, fabrics, fit and construction, with measurements taken remotely.
- Open Monday and Tuesday 10am-5pm, Thursday and Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 9.30am-5pm.
- Closed Wednesday and Sunday.
- Gowns can also be tried at the house's international stockists.
- No appointment fee or guest limit is published.
Dress Designers
- Mariana Hardwick — The house label and its only one - gowns are designed and developed in-house rather than stocked from other brands. The house describes 'a level of skill and technique that has been developed by our team over decades' combined with 'a fearless and visionary approach to design and fabric development', and around thirty years of expertise in fitting complex bridal couture.
Dress Experience
- Mariana Hardwick asks two questions before you ever walk in, and both are useful ones: which pathway you want - ready to wear, made to measure, or full custom couture - and which budget band you are in, and. The house then replies within twenty-four hours to set a time. That is a more honest opening than most of this category manages, and it means the first appointment starts from a shared understanding rather than a polite dance. What you are buying is designed rather than stocked: the team has spent about thirty years on its own dressmaking and corsetry technique and talks about fabric development as part of the design process, with collections released under names like Lumière, Sacred Rituals and Lago di Como. The atelier is on Coventry Street in South Melbourne, open six days but closed Wednesdays. If you cannot get there, the house runs a full virtual consultation - talking through gowns, fabrics, fit and construction, then taking your measurements and making the dress to your closest size to ship anywhere in the world.
Dress Styles
- modern minimalist
- corset
- fitted
- short
- silk
- beaded
Nearby Landmarks
- Coventry Street, South Melbourne – the atelier is in Melbourne's inner south
- South Melbourne Market – a few minutes' walk along Coventry Street
- Clarendon Street, South Melbourne – the neighbouring retail strip
- Melbourne CBD – about 3km north
- Albert Park and the bay – immediately south
Purchase Options
- Made To Order
- Custom Design
- Off The Rack
Services Offered
- Custom Design
- Veils And Accessories
- Virtual Appointments
- Online Ordering
Size Range
No details available.
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Contact
- Website
- marianahardwick.com.au
- Phone
- (03) 9385 6900
- Address
- 234-236 Coventry Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205
234-236 Coventry Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205
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