A Dundee fashion brand helped reality television star Gemma Collins celebrate her birthday at a star-studded party over the weekend.
Former TOWIE star Collins celebrated her 42nd birthday with a party at her Essex home attended by X Factor stars Jedward and DJ Fat Tony.
And to style her outfit, Gemma enlisted the help of Dundee-based Isolated Heroes, run by Samantha Paton.
Samantha has previously worked with a number of celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Paloma Faith and Kate Nash.
“Gemma sent us a message on Instagram saying she loved our stuff and that she wanted to chat,” Samantha said.
“Within an hour we were on FaceTime discussing Isolated Heroes and she was asking if we could make a custom outfit for her birthday.”
Meeting Gemma Collins ‘quite surreal’
Gemma then booked flights to visit Dundee, but had to rearrange and instead flew Samantha to her Essex home.
Samantha said: “It was quite surreal. We’ve dealt with a lot of high-profile clients but they’re rarely as generous as that.
“Normally we get a brief over email and we’ll work from that. But we were sitting round Gemma’s kitchen table discussing design details.”
After meeting Gemma, Samantha and her team then only had days to put together a custom outfit ahead of her birthday bash.
They set to work in their Dundee design studio before sending the dress off late last week.
“It was a really loose brief – she was open to all our suggestions.
“With Gemma, she just wanted something fabulous – big, bright and colourful.
“Inspired by Showgirls, she asked for an all pink statement look for her birthday weekend celebrations.”
Gemma asked for a sequin trouser with hand sewn ostrich feathers, luxury sequins and ruffle trims.
Samantha said Gemma also wanted her own personal take on one of Isolated Heroes’ runway looks. She wanted to turn a heart-shaped bodice into a puff sleeve top.
And Gemma shared a number of pictures of the dress to her social media following of more than two million people at the weekend.
Boost to owner of Dundee fashion business
Samantha, who set up her business a decade ago, said working for her latest celebrity client had been a big confidence boost.
“It has given me massive encouragement to let go of any imposter syndrome.
“Sometimes when we do get contacted by celebrities, as a small business you do get a bit in your head about it.
“It’s just great to know that someone who is completely in our target market is happy to support our business.”
The Dundee business is currently working on a number of other high-profile projects, Samantha added.
Isolated Heroes has an 80% deadstock policy, meaning they use discarded fabric from other warehouses to create their designs.
“We must be doing something right,” she added.
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