Bespoke bridal atelier · Tampa, Florida
A gown that begins as your idea.
Aleksandra Safonova cuts wedding and evening dresses from nothing: no sample rack, no reworking of someone else's pattern. You bring a photograph, a silhouette you cannot stop thinking about, or your grandmother's dress. She builds the rest around your measurements.
From $2,650
An exact figure in writing before anything is cut
From two months
From first message to the box arriving at your door
Fittings in Tampa
Every fitting in person, at the studio
One pair of hands
The person who drafts your pattern finishes your hem
Portfolio
Four projects, told properly
Three Dresses, One Wedding Day
Two gowns built from scratch and a third rebuilt from her grandmother's wedding dress.
Draped Elegance
A gown made entirely from measurements and sent across the country, never tried on until it arrived.
Two Dresses, Two Friends, One Afternoon
Two gowns made with no brief and no deadline: one sharp and sequinned, one all tulle.
The One She Made for Herself
Black velvet, blush tulle and ostrich feathers, built on a dress form padded to her own figure.
How it works
Five steps, from two months
Gowns take from two months, depending on the design. Nothing is charged until the design and the quote are agreed in writing.
- 01
Send the idea
A red-carpet photograph, a sketch on a napkin, or a dress in your mother's wardrobe. We reply with what is possible, what it costs, and how long it takes.
- 02
Design and fabric
Technical sketches for your figure, then fabric in your hands: silk mikado, duchess satin, crepe, taffeta, embroidered lace. Swatches are posted to you before anything is cut.
- 03
Pattern and toile
A pattern drafted from twelve measurements and a mock-up in cheap cloth first, so the shape comes from the seams rather than from darts you can see.
- 04
Fittings at the studio
Every fitting happens in person at the Tampa studio, so the shape is set on your figure rather than approximated over photographs. Brides from out of town plan their visits around these appointments.
- 05
Finishing and delivery
Hand-finished hems and linings, pressed, boxed, and couriered, with a note on how to travel with it and how to get into it on the day.
From the bride
“Safonova Couture made me not one, not two but three stunning looks.”
A ceremony gown in heavyweight silk, an evening dress under fifteen metres of ostrich feathers dyed to order, and her grandmother's wedding dress rebuilt into a two-piece for the bridal shower.
Read the caseThe atelier
One designer, one dress at a time
She trained on corsetry and pattern cutting, and she works alone. Whoever drafts your pattern is the same person who sets the boning, drapes the feathers and hands you the box at the end. It is why she takes a small number of brides each season, and why none of them are fitted into a sample size.
Meet Aleksandra
Tell her the idea you cannot stop thinking about.
There is no fee for the conversation and no obligation after it. Most brides send a photograph, a date and a budget, and get a price and a plan the next day.